The Secrecy Spectrum
by thebluemartian
Summary: AU. A new woman moves in 5A. Beautiful, confident, smart and full of secrets- she befriends the whole gang and teaches Sheldon how to live, love and lie. All kinds of action, romance and mystery. Sheldon/OC... post Shamy break up. M in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This all came out of a dream I had. As much as I am a Shenny fan, I do like Sheldon/OC.

For the purposes of this story Howard and Bernadette are married, Penny is with Leonard and Sheldon and Amy have broken up.

I do not own the BBT

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><p>"Oh come on Howard, the only hero that could take Sheldon down would be Flash!" Leonard proclaimed loudly as he, Howard and Sheldon rounded to the landing of the fourth floor.<p>

"I dunno, I think Green Lantern could have a good shot in either incarnation. I mean Sheldon rarely wears yellow and we both know he never gets wood." Before Sheldon could figure out Howard's innuendo an echoing laugh reverberated throughout hallway, seemingly coming from the long broken elevator shaft.

The guys froze before Howard asked if anyone else had heard the noise. For a moment they all thought they didn't hear it. Howard and Leonard shrugged it off and opened the door to 4A before realizing that Sheldon was not with them. Back in the hall Sheldon had his ear pressed to the metal of the elevator doors; wearing his curiosity face- he was trying to solve the puzzle.

_Knock, knock, knock. _"Is anyone there?"

_Knock, knock, knock. _"Is anyone there?"

_Knock, knock, knock. _"Is anyone there?"

He knocked in such rapid succession it was only until he finished his mantra that he jumped back from hearing the voice on the other side of the double doors. "Hey, could you open the doors! I dropped my crow bar down the shaft!"

Her voice was soft and liquid like perfume, kind and yet quite direct. The other two men in the hall watched on in near awe as Sheldon parted the elevator door and extracted the brunette woman within. They couldn't speak to her for a full minute they were too stunned from both Sheldon's sudden knight-in-armor act and the fact that she was simply absolutely stunning. She was most likely in her late twenties, about Leonard's height with a trim but feminine figure-curves in all the right places. Her espresso hair was wavy, falling just past her shoulders. Her lips were naturally bright, her complexion fairly pale like a blushing snow white, and her greenish brown eyes sparkled with a hint of mischief. To be sure, the guys noticed, and so did Sheldon who was still holding her with one of his long arms wrapped around her back. He hadn't let his gaze leave her eyes since the second her feet hit the safety of the fourth floor.

"Uh, yeah sorry." Leonard had just recovered and began to approach her from her right side. Sheldon was still protectively holding her in his grasp and not budging in his evaluation of her facial features. "Um. Why were you in the elevator shaft?" It seemed a reasonable question, thank God he thought of it.

"Oh." She let out a guilty little giggle. "I just moved into 5A yesterday. I told the landlord I would inspect the shaft to see if it was too damaged for a replacement- I don't trust these so called 'inspectors' nowadays." She glanced back toward the open door of shaft and then back between the two short men and the tall man still holding her. She couldn't help but smile ruefully at his little act of heroism. She was not a woman used to needing rescue but goodness was it great that her knight was so tall and so undeniably adorable. The other two seemed like dorks, cute but definite geeks. Good, maybe they could answer some questions. She giggled affectionately, "Hey, do you guys have any idea who used the last elevator to insulate that explosion? I'm a bit surprised whoever chose to do such a small scale experiment in a residential area was able to accurately able to determine the accelerated rate of combustion fast enough to take such a precaution. I'd _love_ to meet that person. Maybe they still live around here? It couldn't have happened more than eight years ago judging by the residue on the shaft."

Deer in headlights. Three pairs of eyes all panicked and staring at her. "What?" She asked, hoping she didn't alienate the first three people she met in Pasadena.

"Oh, oh." Leonard was wringing his hands, hoping his little secret wasn't going to finally land him in trouble with the law, the university or NSA. "Oh, uh. Sheldon didn't do the experiment but he was the one who figured it out and used the elevator. He saved us."

"Oh you know him then? I would love to meet some scientists around here; I don't know anyone in Pasadena and I long ago discovered that my happiness is directly proportional to my proximity to other nerds." Sheldon's attention finally snapped to. He didn't seem to notice that he was still holding the gorgeous- and obviously intelligent- woman in his arms.

"That would be me," the tall blue eyed savior responded. Howard rolled his eyes; he would have expected that Sheldon would introduce himself by his formal title to such a babe. '_Did he even notice? Probably not, but damn! If he weren't with Bernadette I would just- wait, is she smiling back at him like she's _charmed_ by him?'_

"This is Dr. Leonard Hofstadter, an experimental physicist." He lazily pointed toward his roommate, still not taking his eyes off hers. "And this is Mr. Wolowitz, he claims that as an engineer he doesn't need his doctorate." For the first time in his life Howard was thankful for Sheldon's condescension. It was the only thing normal about him right now. He was looking at the woman in his arms- well like a _man_ looking at a gorgeous woman in his arms.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all. I'm Dr. Christine Thomas."

"MD or PhD?" Sheldon asked in genuine curiosity. It would be wonderful to expand the skill set of the group with a medical officer since Leonard's relationship with Stephanie failed, but it would also be wonderful to have another female scientist around.

"Both actually, and in totally unrelated fields. I try to forget about the MD except in emergencies." At her response Sheldon's already too bright smile widened… now _he_ was visibly charmed. Howard thought the world just might end and it had nothing to do with the fact that Siam Palace just closed yesterday and tonight was Thai night... hence the reason they thought Sheldon might turn into a supervillian tonight if they didn't come up with a viable alternative, therefore they needed to determine who could take him down.

"Well thank you so much for saving me there. Would you guys like to come up for dinner tonight? I make Thai every Monday." Leonard mentally cheered before realizing Sheldon would not be happy if the group had to split up.

"Oh, we would, we usually eat Thai every Monday too. But we usually also eat with my girlfriend- she lives in 4B, Howard's wife, our other friend Raj and Sheldon's ex-girlfriend Amy… don't worry, nothing awkward there." He really, really hoped she wouldn't be put off by any perceived drama of having an ex as a friend of the group. She seemed too nice a person (being beautiful aside) for him to want to alienate... _'Besides, is Sheldon actually still holding her? Wait, he's holding her? My God, the world is ending.'_

"Oh please, bring them along! I love to cook for people and I don't know anyone in Pasadena, well except for someone at the university. I would love to meet them if you guys are all up for it."

She was genuinely pleased when Sheldon accepted. "Awesome. I'm just going to go pick up some more good hot sauce and low sodium soy sauce. I hope you guys don't mind your broccoli chopped instead of shredded, I really can't stand that substandard form of preparation." She assumed their simultaneous bug-eyed stares weren't arguing with her. "Oh." As an afterthought, she reached into her pocket and put the contents into Sheldon's hand as she pulled away and toward the stairs. "You might need that Sheldon."

Leonard snagged it from Sheldon's hands as soon as Christine was out of sight.

"What is it?" Howard asked.

"It's a number two pencil."

"Dear God, she gets comic books?" Howard was impressed and scared out of his mind- a socially adept version of Sheldon? Oh… oh no.

"Their babies," Leonard pointed between the spot Christine was last visible and Sheldon. "Will be smart, beautiful, and take over the world." He thought for sure Sheldon would scold him. But Sheldon, also looking wistfully at Christine's exit, simply mumbled in return. "And real."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: special thanks to Jislane for all the support so far.

Sheldon may come off a bit OOC but I really think he would be aware of his feelings if he had any- so I hope its not much of a stretch here.

*indicates that I am totally making facts up.

I do not own the Big Bang Theory

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><p>They tried watching TV but it was no use, Sheldon was pacing behind the sofa and muttering so softly that only someone else with Vulcan hearing could ever pick up on the details.<p>

Leonard couldn't focus on the new StarTrek boxset he just bought. All he could think of as he watched Sheldon was how his friend just advanced a little with his obvious infatuation with their new neighbor. Sheldon never looked at a woman like he just did, he never held _anyone_ that long and so protectively.

But then again, Sheldon never met a woman brave enough to climb an elevator shaft, anal enough to not put her safety in other people's hands, routine enough to make the same meal every Monday (and properly, simultaneous to Sheldon's schedule) and yet obviously somewhat of a free spirit despite her intelligence. Sheldon never advanced to that much intimacy even with Amy during their relationship. Christine was an entirely new type of personality and this was totally new behavior for their formerly-thought asexual friend. No wonder he looks like a time bomb is going off in his head.

"Sheldon, stop!" Leonard leaped up from his seat and around the other side of the couch to stop the progress of his friend's pace. "Calm down buddy. Its natural to be nervous like this but you gotta relax."

"Relax? I don't know what is happening to me Leonard. My heart is racing, its getting hard to breathe, my mind keep going out of focus and I'm not even worried about all the germs I probably contracted through extended contact with our new neighbor. In what universe is it acceptable that I fall to these primitive urges and—feelings!"

'_Huh, I always thought Sheldon would never be able to translate the physiological symptoms of infatuation with the emotional state.' _"So you have feelings for her then?" Howard interjected himself into the conversation.'_ Sheldon in a state that might be love at first sight? It was like a transit of Venus coinciding with the return of Halley's comet'._ Howard admitted he might be spending a little too much time with Raj lately to have that thought on the tip of his tongue.

"Yes. I do." Sheldon said simply. Somehow he didn't seem as scared of normal life as he usually did. Neither Howard nor Leonard even thought of the possibility that he might be a minute from making more glow in the dark fish. No, this time he was pure nerves, something they just then realized that they never saw in their usually self-assured friend before.

"Leonard, Howard." Sheldon paused, trying to calm the nerves in his voice. "She's making my dinner. I can't let her make my dinner. Its not proper. Its, its not how—"

"Sheldon, calm down. Go upstairs. Ask her if she needs any help. That way you can make sure she doesn't mishandle your food and not look like a jerk doing it." Howard suggested.

"I didn't even think of her mishandling my food. This is disturbing, disturbing indeed." Sheldon muttered, taking his key out of the bowl and heading upstairs before his friends had a chance to agree with him.

-T—B—B—T—

_Knock. Knock. Knock. _"Christine."

_Knock. Knock. Knock. _"Christine."

_Knock. Knock. Knock. _"Christine."

Sheldon tried to hide his visible relief and excitement when she opened the door with a soft smile on her face. He only parted from her twenty minutes ago and it felt too long. He missed her, this was not good.

"Hey Sheldon. For future reference, do you always knock with such cadence?"

"Yes, I do. It seems to be a joke amongst my friends." Sheldon admitted plainly. Of course he noticed his friends, mostly Penny, imitating it. He is sure they probably thought of it as a symptom of OCD. But really, he just liked things done properly. Why is that so wrong?

"Well I will be sure to keep it in mind while answering the door. It is so helpful to know someone's knock as a positive identifier, especially since I am just a bit too short to see through the peep hole." She was aware that he seemed a bit embarrassed at how his friends mocked him for it. That didn't seem fair at all to her. Her brother had a similar style in knocking long ago- she missed the consistency most people seemed to lack. "This is my typical knock." She knocked three times in rapid succession, three times in slower steady beats and then replicated the first three beats.

"Your knock is S.O.S.?"

"Yep." Pleased, "Its ironic since I haven't needed help, other than today, in many years. Thank you for that by the way. I nearly threw myself off balance on that ledge trying to get the door open." Christine began to edge her way behind the island in the kitchen to set back to work as Sheldon trailed her.

"I came to help you prepare dinner. I have never prepared Thai on my own but my meemaw did make sure I was helpful in the kitchen when I was growing up. Its not proper that you prepare such a large meal for perfect strangers."

He was relieved to notice that not only was she wearing her hair pulled back so it would not get into the food, but that she methodically washed her hands before returning to her chopping. She even had a floor level installed to control the water so she didn't have to touch the faucet with her hands. Quite hygienic, something Sheldon definitely appreciated. He helped himself to her sink and antibacterial soap. She informed him that he could use the hand drier next to the sink, and that she specially designed it to recirculate sterilized air to dry hands instead of just pushing germs around.

She silently directed him to chop the vegetables while she chopped the meat. Both made quick work of mincing garlic and diving cuts of chicken and beef. Sheldon was adequate in his culinary skills, Christine however seemed like a pro with a knife.

"Were you a surgeon by any chance?" Sheldon observed that she washed much like she was scrubbing in and skillfully handled her paring knife.

"Yes, a trauma surgeon at MGH. I made it to attending at a young age, obviously. But that was years ago and I just couldn't commit myself to one career path. In a way I still haven't. What is it you do? I assume you have a doctorate considering how you told me of Howard's lack of one."

Sheldon seemed pleased. She was quite observant. Most of his colleagues could hardly pick up all the information he tended to convey in his speech, yet she picked up on his intelligence with little exposure. "I have two doctorates actually, and a master's degree. I'm a physicist as well. Currently I am working on string theory. I hope to prove it and get the Nobel." He stopped talking when he noticed she stopped her work and was staring at him like she was trying to decipher writing on a wall.

"Sheldon. Sheldon _Cooper_ by any chance?" He nodded. "Oh my goodness, I don't know why I didn't put it together before when you introduced Leonard. I have been following your work for years since you got the Stevenson. I'm not a physicist myself but your work is incredibly impressive. I'm sure the prize is just a few years off, if that." She stated it all with wonder and assurance, as if Sheldon getting the Nobel prize was as obvious as Howard getting a punch in the face from a woman someday- It was hard to not notice his leering earlier.

"Why thank—" the knock at the door announced his friend's arrival. Sheldon didn't think he had been gone that long, then realized Christine was already half way through sautéing dinner.

Christine set the rice cooker and turned the food on low to finish cooking without her assistance. She let everyone in and gestured to the livingroom area. At this point the entire party had been let in on Sheldon's affections for Christine and therefore everyone was extremely observant of her and her habits. So, it did not escape anyone's notice that Christine moved in just yesterday yet her apartment was spotless. Not a box was to be seen. Everything had its place, even the living room with its large pink silk sofa seemed perfectly matched the décor of the building, despite also looking like it came from old Hollywood. She paired it with dark oak side chairs and an old train case as a table/ottoman that Penny was sure Sheldon would appreciate. She asked Christine if it was authentic, and was pleased with the positive response.

Only Raj took a seat before Sheldon, and that was only because he had broken his ankle and needed to stay off his feet as much as possible. He sat closest to the door which did not seem to disturb Sheldon, but he was circling the room nervous to find his spot but oddly aware that it might be impolite to his hostess. He was relieved when Penny chimed in to inform Christine "Sheldon likes to stake out a spot he feels comfortable in when he goes somewhere new."

"Oh. Ok, what is your criteria Sheldon? I found that right here" she pointed to two spots on the sofa, the middle and closest to the window, "Seem to be my preferences. There is a cross breeze by opening windows here, and here." She pointed. "They aren't too close to the heater, and while you might like a bit more of a direct angle to the television than I do, I find it adequate in either spot, though best at the end seat. And both still allow for an unobstructed flow of conversation."

Penny nearly shit her pants. Did this woman have a script or something? She watched as Sheldon asked his hostess/apparent new love interest which seat she preferred (the middle) and took the other seat… which just happened to correspond to 0,0,0,0.

Leonard noticed Penny's shock, as did everyone else… they were all shocked. But he didn't want to be impolite by gaping so he got on with the introductions. When it came to Amy, she gave her the same friendly hug she gave to the other girls. Amy awkwardly mentioned that she dated Sheldon in the past. He glared at her like he was trying to blow up her head. Christine just laughed at Amy's innocent apology if it made her uncomfortable. Christine ensured the other brunette that she found it comforting to know that Sheldon can remain such a loyal friend.

Then, came Raj's introduction. He extended his hand to shake hers but of course could not respond.

"Oh," Howard remembered his duties "He can't talk to women."

"Oh! Selective Mutism!" She exclaimed like she just won a small jackpot. She swiveled her body to the train case to sit right in front of Raj. Had Sheldon not noticed that they would be eating at the dining table (which was already set) he might have had a fit of her rear end being where he would set his food… even if that rear end was undeniably attractive and—he shut that thought right down.

Christine studied Raj like a science experiment. Leonard knew the look, his mother used to have that look when he was younger and she would interact with some of her patients. "We didn't even know what it was until my mother diagnosed it. Shes a psychologist, Beverly Hofstadter."

"Oh yes." Still examining Raj's facial expressions, she responded to Leonard. "I met her years ago. Your mother huh? I apologize if this comes off as rude but I really can't stand her brand of opinion when it comes to raising children. Needy Baby, Greedy Baby? I suppose that was about you? She's quite brilliant but that type of parenting is pure hokum in my opinion, it should stay as theory."

"I couldn't agree with you more." Penny and Leonard responded in unison.

"So you are a psychologist then? I mean other than the MD you disregard." Howard asked.

"My second doctorate was in psychology. I actually did it on selective mutism and its occurrence in Siberia, very common there. I am not surprised Raj has gone so long without treatment here, everyone seems to disregard Russian psychology nowadays*. Does this also occur with your female family members Raj? Does alcohol help reduce symptoms?" Raj nodded no to the first question and everyone answered the second.

"How many doctorates _do_ you have?" Bernadette couldn't help her curiosity.

Christine sighed. It always seemed like she couldn't escape that question. As proud as she was of her achievements and intelligence she always felt self conscious of coming of as an overachiever and bragger. She decided to rip off the bandaid and answered with as little emotion as possible. "Three doctorates: chemistry, psychology and linguistics. Two master's degrees in botany and political science."

The group joined Sheldon in his silence as they digested the nonchalant statement. This girl was obviously a genius. She could potentially rival Sheldon.

"What is your IQ?" Sheldon wanted to ask it, but Amy beat him to it. Christine sighed even deeper, keeping her gaze fixed on Raj. This brought some minor tings of jealousy through Sheldon, a feeling he was unfamiliar with. Sure, he could recognize it because he has been jealous of the past, but usually by other things like when Leonard almost took Penny to see the Large Hardron Collider. He was never before jealous of a woman showing any interest in his friends.

Christine resigned to the fact that she would have to tell them. She knew there was a whole body of facts she could never, ever share with the group but this was not one of those things. This was just something that almost embarrassed her.

"I prefer to not be judged by my intelligence but rather my accomplishments. That said, to answer your question my IQ is estimated to be between 185 and 189."

"So at the mean you have the same IQ as Sheldon, though I would say that due to your work in the humanities that your strengths are probably more evenly dived than Sheldon's which is obviously more suited to the hard sciences."

Sheldon barely heard Amy, he was somehow overcome with a foreign desire to press Christine back into the train chest and just hold her. Christine hoped to redirect the conversation.

"Raj, I do think I could cure you of this. I have done it before, with therapy- not drugs. Here, lets see if I can get a head start before dinner." She wrapped her arms around Raj and began to whisper in his ear—Sheldon started rising in his seat without realizing his body was reacting. But just as quickly as Christine had made the move she backed away.

Raj looked to Amy. "Amy, would you go on a date with me tonight?" Then he slapped his hands over his mouth in utter surprise. Amy looked at him in utter astonishement, nodded and before anyone could explain it, the two were walking out the door (Raj hobbling with the help of Amy).

"What on earth?" Bernadette asked.

"Oh, I just assumed with the body language they were exhibiting that they were attracted to one another. I told Raj that if he didn't ask out the woman he likes right now I would break his ankle again just so I could reset it."

Penny was the only one with a response. "You might be a super genius like Dr. Whack-a-doodle over there, but damn you are my kind of woman."

The dinner met everyone one of Sheldon's specifications, she even used the same hot mustard he enjoyed.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Heres a few snap shots of Christine's first week with the gang. I wanted to give her a little background and the opinions of others in the group.

I don't own BBT

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><p>Over the course of the next week Penny began to take a real liking to Christine. As much as she loved Bernadette and Amy, Christine didn't suffer from a lack of self-esteem or have odd stories about resistant strains of the clap. Actually, as Amy pointed out the day after they met her, Christine was becoming the Alpha of the females in their group. Penny had scoffed at the comment but it did strike her as true. As much as she hated being challenged by the last hot girl to move into 5A, <em>this<em> hot girl was not at all someone she felt an urge to compete with. On the contrary, she rather liked being led a little more- Christine was far too fun to argue with and was not out to take Leonard away from her or rob anyone of attention. If Alpha meant leader, well, Christine led with love.

Plus, she was a girl's girl. When Amy came into Penny's apartment, as she and Christine were having coffee, to moan about not feeling confident when Raj kissed her the night before, Christine responded with retail therapy.

She drove them all to the Glendale mall and persuaded Amy to try on a lacy bra and panty set at Victoria's secret. Then, she decided that the three of them all needed mani-pedi's and somehow talked the owner of the salon in the mall to comp all three of their treatments in exchange for some recommendation to the Better Business Bureau. To say she was impressive was an understatement.

"So Amy, when Raj kissed you last night was it a chaste goodnight kiss or a little more?" Penny wondered. She had never thought of those two together, ever. It was a little hard to wrap her head around, almost as hard as thinking that someday Sheldon might actually have a real relationship if Christine reciprocated his affections, which he was still trying to keep underwraps.

"Well, it was when he started. Then, well we got to second base." Amy nervously replied.

"And I take it you've never made it past short stop before?" Christine chimed in.

"Well no. I am not sure if I am prepared for this. As much as I pushed the issue with Sheldon, I felt comfortable in knowing our relationship was primarily of the mind. With Raj, he seems an emotional man." Amy looked anywhere other than at her friends. This was embarrassing, Penny had slept with Raj and she could hardly get herself to second base with him! Though she knew she wouldn't have stopped him had they kept going.

"Well he seems like a gentleman to me. To be honest, I had little confidence he would actually ask you last night. As much as I picked up on it, most times a threat like mine results in meeks and mumbles, not full on requests to dates. You should be flattered Amy. I know he was probably as nervous as you… his response suggests emotional responses beyond mere physical attraction."

For once a clinical assement on the scale of Amy was actually as comforting to her friend as it was to Penny. She found she didn't mind Amy's earlier comment on Alphas and Beta females… this made sense.

-T—B—B—T-

With the girl's help, Christine acclimated to the routine of the group. Her first time in 4A was interesting to say the least. First, she knocked. No one ever knocks and that seemed to impress Sheldon immensely.

"Sheldon, which spot is yours in this apartment?" She asked politely before sitting.

Sheldon took his seat. "This is my 0,0,0,0 on a four-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system."

"Hmm…" She took a moment. "Then perhaps we should officially designate the left hand of my sofa as 0,0,1,0." Sheldon nodded in a pleased manner as he reached into the pizza box for his second slice. Penny had a look of confusion on her face, so Raj, being closest, leaned in and whispered an explanation before he realized she was _not_ Howard and he was actually talking to her.

"Oh my God! This is incredible." Penny commended her new neighbor and friend, wishing the other girls had decided to join them for pizza and vintage videogame night.

"Oh, it's no big deal really. That will happen here and there until he is cured. I am betting he got a little confidence boost from Amy the other night."

"How could you possibly know that?" Sheldon asked.

"I'm a brilliant psychologist sweetie." She pat Sheldon lightly on the knee. He stared at it for several seconds before inhaling sharply and shoving his pizza in his mouth with force.

Leonard caught that and filed it mentally under the tab 'Things to taunt Sheldon with'. "What exactly do you do? I mean, your degrees don't exactly have a lot of overlap."

Crap. This is where things got tricky making friends. She couldn't tell the truth, not the whole truth. At least this Alias's occupation(s) were interesting and made use of her talents, so she could skirt the truth without feeling too guilty. All too often she couldn't connect with a man in a meaningful way because she spent her life in a tangle of lies. But Sheldon, he couldn't even keep it a secret that he was attracted to her. His overt ticks didn't take a psychologist to figure out. And he was far too handsome and sweet and—she was swooning instead of answering the question.

"I'm a consultant. I took on a couple classes at Cal Tech when Dr. Gablehauser called in a favor but I have worked as a criminal profiler in the past, I still moonlight on occasion. Right now my research is geared towards equipment and weaponry interaction with the psyche of U.S. soldiers and those who have those weapons pointed at them. In a way, it combines most of my degrees- except botany which was more of a hobby than anything. I analyze reactions through psychology, use my political science knowledge to understand how political factors interplay with military occupations, chemistry helps me construct and alter many of the weapons I experiment with. And I conduct in person interviews and counseling sessions in people's native tongues.—oh! Botany did help me gain trust during my last visit to Afghanistan. After I helped a few tribal groups save their crops they opened right up, rules of reciprocity really are universal" She mused.

'_Jesus Christ'_ Leonard thought. "You take interdisciplinary to a whole new level. Did you always plan on using your skills this way? Is that why you got so many degrees?"

"No," She put her plate down on the coffee table and sipped her water. "That's purely a product of my inability to commit to a life path. I am rather an epicurean of knowledge. If I were to examine myself I would say it is because I take commitment to such an extreme by nature that I do not make such decisions lightly. Thus far I have found few things I can really commit to on such a meaningful level and I am unable to do anything like that without full conversion."

"Sheldon is exactly the same way. It's good for physics that he chose it long ago." Penny couldn't hold back a smile at how alike and opposite the two were. "Your parents must be so proud of you."

Christine winced at the comment. "Christine are you alright?" Sheldon hesitated before gently and experimentally placing his hand on her knee.

"Yes, I'm fine. I don't have family. I grew up with my mother and older brother but both" she hardly got out the next few words "fell victim to a madman."

"I, I'm so sorry." Penny took her hand.

"No, no. It was a long time ago. I came to terms with it. They were both around when I was turned down my attending position at 19 and instead decided to finish up my last two doctorates. I thought at first that my mother would be angry. She always raised me to believe I had to help people whenever I can. But she told me no matter what I did, I would serve the world and that she was proud of me. It was the last thing she ever said to me. So, in a way every time I change jobs it's like making her more and more proud."

"That's just awesome. I wish I could feel like my dad was proud of me. A failed actress doesn't get a lot of praise." Christine's mood shifted dramatically to eagerness.

"Oh, you're and actress? What have you done?"

"Just a hemorrhoid cream commercial."

"The one with the horse! I thought you looked familiar. I watched it with a friend I know, he thought you would look great in this- ya know what let me get you his number." She scurried to Sheldon's desk where he had plugged in her phone for her and scratched a number down on a post-it.

"Here. He produces small time sci-fi flicks. It would be a huge favor to me if you called him; he's been looking for the right blonde to play a roll in his first self-written film. He'd owe me a huge thank you if it worked out."

Leonard couldn't help but think that if Christine's entire IQ was wrapped up in social skills he would not have been surprised. His girlfriend was going to be in a movie (he was sure) that probably didn't involve singing (thank God) and it was a sci-fi flick! Could his luck get any better? He resolved right then that Sheldon was just going to have to marry Christine and by God he was going to do everything he could to make sure it happened.

-T—B—B—T—

"Oh, hey guys." Penny and Christine said in unison as they exited 4B. It was paintball Sunday and all four were covered in paint splotches. Sheldon had the least of anyone, but his mask was now opaque with blue paint. Everyone else was covered in yellow, red and green.

"Jeeze Sheldon, did a whole team gang up on you?" Christine asked, using her emergency key to open their apartment door for them. They looked beaten up and tired.

"Yes, my own team." Sheldon responded and not without some indignation and glares at his two friends and one acquaintance.

"Guys was it really necessary to resort to mutiny?" Christine understood that Sheldon could get to be too much for his friends at times, but mutiny didn't really seem justified under any circumstances. Perhaps that was a loyalty thing she had.

"We only did after the game, just to mess with him for giving himself a field promotion to Colonel." Howard was using his reasoning voice, which she noticed was not unlike his 'I'm trying to justify myself voice'.

"Hmm, I would have promoted him to Brigadier General if it was my command, or Admiral if this was Startrek. Speaking of which—" She went on to discuss a dream she had where Captain Picard rescued her from the Death Star (she acknowledged her dreams often jump fictional universes) and ended with her burning her hand trying to replicate her meme's pork pie recipe that she lost as a child and has tried for years to recover.

Penny had decided days ago that she was going to focus a great deal of her energy on observing the interactions between Christine and Sheldon. It had been obvious that he had feelings for her the night they met but Christine didn't seem to display any inordinate amount of attention or affection towards him that she could pinpoint. Part of her feared that maybe Sheldon's affections would go unrequited and he would end up giving up on his newfound interest in romantic attachements forever if this didn't work out. But part of her was almost convinced that that interest was there on both sides and for some reason the otherwise confident and candid Christine was shy and reserved in this area.

So when she watched Sheldon mentally file the tidbit about the pork pie away she was not surprised. But she was surprised when Christine turned toward Sheldon and examined his cheek. His mask had been forcefully pressed into his face when the guys ganged up on him earlier in the day and left a nasty welt forming on the apple of his left cheek.

"Sheldon let me see your face." He tried resisting as she reached out for it. He still wasn't used to human contact and he was afraid of being hurt more.

"Sheldon come on, don't make me pull medical officer rank on your ass."

He leaned in to give her his cheek and winced slightly. When she asked who had knocked into his mask he replied that it was Leonard. She kissed his cheek (to the delight of Penny) and stroked his jaw bone before pulling away.

"Just for that Leonard," he found himself on the receiving end of a supervillian stare "I'm issuing you a strike on Sheldon's behalf. Honestly, he's too lenient on the things that count."

Sheldon tried to hide his proud smirk and delight in the knowledge that she had committed his roommate agreement and house rules to memory- apparently her's was eidetic too- as he watched her leave the apartment to get a specialty icepack for him.

Leonard leaned in towards Penny. "Smart, beautiful and _terrifying_."

Christine's voice rang out from the hall in unison with Sheldon's. "I heard that Leonard!"

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><p>So, what do you think of this chapter? Please review!<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: time to get a little POV from our characters. This chapter captures a little bit of what Sheldon thinks about Christine in his life. More shall follow soon.

Thanks for the reviews... more please! :D

I do not own the Big Bang Theory.

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><p>The beauty of this prank was that not only did it get back at Penny for throwing tissues into his laundry, but it also meant it would force her to clean her apartment. Sure, Penny would get his mother to yell at him, but that would be after the fact and his message would get across.<p>

It worked better than expected, too. The baby powder was _everywhere_.It got into every little crevasse of her apartment, between sofa cushions and pages of Penny's numerous fashion magazines. But the greatest reward from Sheldon's efforts was certainly the scene he and Leonard happened to witness as they returned from work the day of execution.

Her apartment door was open and the smell of baby powder could be identified from the second floor but the music blaring was only audible from the fourth floor landing. When they rounded the hallway they could see through Penny's open door to her apartment as Penny and Christine continued their bobbing along to the beats. They were wearing strange contraptions on their feet that look suspiciously like dry mops sewn into slippers and Swiffer gloves on their hands. Both scientists knew those had to be inventions of their newest neighbor, surprisingly efficient. Leonard thought for sure Sheldon would end up worshiping Christine as some sort of cleanliness goddess.

Sheldon appreciated the little cleaning inventions but could hardly care as two main thoughts passed through his head. The first was the most practical so he tried to focus on that in an attempt to everything else out. As he tried to ignore the horrendously upbeat tunes and nonsensical lyrics _you gotta get wit my friends, make it last forever…_ he took the moment to realize that the key to getting Penny to clean was to make it fun for her. Personally he always found cleaning fun on its own accord but Christine obviously figured out how to bring it down to Penny's level. This is so much more efficient than him having to sneak in to do it!

The second thought just would not stay repressed and was really much more of a primal urge than a coherent thought. It was hard for him to focus on anything other than his pulse beating louder in his ears, his breath hitching whenever Christine's movements made it appear she could catch him leering at any moment- he had such fears he would get caught. He tried and tried, but just could not seem to keep his thoughts from straying towards Christine in his bedroom.

And Christine's hip hugging dark blue jeans revealing a generous sliver of her soft skin did not help the cause for Sheldon's suppressing his ever escalating desires. That witch!She was hypnotic. Utterly erotic and forcing certain physiological effects in Sheldon's body that really did not belong in the hallway. Every sway of her hips and the tiny beads of sweat forming on her brow were just… he pulled Leonard across the hall to their own apartment with force, noting his roommate seemed equally struck with the sight of his girlfriend in a similar state. No wonder why Leonard jumped at every opportunity to get in Penny's pants. If it was anything like how Christine made him… '_Channel Spock, channel Spock.'_

Sheldon decided it was time he write down the effects of Christine's presence in his life so that he could examine it logically, if only to give him an excuse to seek refuge deeper into his apartment, in his bedroom where he could not hear those entrancing beats.

_Social Log: Christine. Entry #1_

_Despite Penny's presence, the sight of Christine jigrating and swaying in tune with that inane 'song' has produced physical manifestations of my increasing desire for her. This manifestation is not new to me, but the frequency in which I observe a need to relieve myself has increased exponentially with each passing day since first meeting Christine exactly three weeks prior to this date._

_What concerns me however, is not the physical responses to her presence; I can explain those quite rationally. Rather, I am quite perplexed by emotional responses I have experienced in her company, generally in tandem or to the exclusion of the several forms of arousal she elicits._

_ When I first met her and she exhibited intelligence, insight and what I perceived as possible interest in myself on a so-called romantic level, I felt delight. Then I felt frustration, nervousness and hopeful. I understand it is unlikely that I have developed a real emotional attachment to a woman I hardly know, yet whenever she speaks my mood fluctuates rapidly. _

_For example, when she revealed the fate of her mother and brother I felt anger- anger at whoever chose to cause her pain. Then I felt what Penny helped me determine was empathy… for her seemingly loneliness… something I feel even having a family to pester me. _

_Most disturbing about these occurrences is that I find them important. While my friends may claim that I do not experience emotions this is simply not true. I simply ignore them when I have them, but I have not experienced any so strong as those since meeting Christine and some are entirely new in context to a relationship with another being. _

_Another aspect of my relationship with Christine is her ability to manipulate my will to try new things. She claims that her main goal in life is to experience as much as she can at least once. This does not surprise me. From our conversations I have gathered that she has traveled all over the world since she was a child and that her third doctorate in linguistics was of little challenge due to her having already spoken twelve languages by her fifteenth birthday. And she will eat anything, __anything.__ She ate a __live millipede__ in Zimbabwe just because she never tried it before. This both disgusts and intrigues me._

_Thankfully the only big press she has made in this direction towards me was during the last Anything–can-happen-Thursday was to take a literal interpretation and drag me (just her and myself) to a newly establish Afghani restaurant before taking in the midnight showing of some children's movie. She claims children's movies are always best a midnight, when no children are around- this I agree with. The newness of this experience was not solely relegated to the food or the movie. But rather, Penny informed me that it was as close to a 'real date' as I have ever had with a woman- and this is disconcerting for two reasons. The first being that it was by no means an official date and the second being that if it were- it would mean that she initiated it and not myself. If I am to date Christine, I will be a gentleman about it. According to my mother, chivalry is not dead._

_And now, I am thinking of dating her- and without a girlfriend agreement. Not only would it probably offend her, as Leonard and Penny explained to me one night (and my failed relationship with Amy proves it does not guarantee success), but its primary purpose was to restrict the very types of contact and interactions that I am suddenly eager to initiate. _

_This is a mighty paradigm shift indeed. _

_End Entry- Dr. Sheldon Lee Cooper._

Sheldon had just finished signing his formal title in his log when Leonard knocked on his bedroom door to inform him that his mother was on the line. He expected this, just great! [sarcasm]. Christine and Penny were bringing the Chinese tonight and would be there any minute, so he decided to take the phone with him toward the living room so he could use the excuse of company as a reason to get off the phone with his mother.

"Shelly, what on God's good earth were you thinking this time?" His mother's twang came through the line with all the fury of a mother. "That there Penny had to get help from a one of them shrinks after your little stunt."

Sheldon tried to reel in his disappointed sigh. "Mother, Christine is indeed a psychologist but I assure you her assistance to Penny was in the form of cleaning, not a psychological evaluation- though that would be a wonderful use of her talents now that I think of it."

"Don't you give me none of that lip boy. That may be the case but it does not erase the fact that yet again I have to call you up and reign you in." She really was peeved at her son, but also a little annoyed that Penny resorted to calling her yet again instead of dealing with it herself.

"But momma..." Sheldon noticed that Christine and Penny had just come through the door. He made a good attempt to hide his conversation from the two women to limit Penny's satisfaction but Christine had picked up on his pleading and was already looking for an explanation from Penny.

No sooner did Penny finish her first sentence to explain the scene of Sheldon begging his mother to hear his side of the story did he feel the phone receiver being plucked out of his hand and moving towards the ear of his crush. _'Did I just think of her as my crush?' _Sheldon was astounded by both happenings.

"Hello, Mrs. Cooper." Christine greeted politely but to the point. "This is Sheldon's friend Christine." Sheldon couldn't make out the mumbles on the other end of the line. "Yes, I'm the shrink." She rolled her eyes. "No I am not having relations with your son." Sheldon blushed madly and had to turn to the refrigerator to hide. "I assure you he was hardly in the wrong here. It may not make me popular with my new friend Penny to say this but she had it coming after her stunt with the laundry." She hesitated. "I don't see how it's helpful to anyone that you're calling to scold your full grown son ma'am." Sheldon nearly had a heart attack, she wasn't being disrespectful but she was certainly issuing a challenge to his mother. "Mmmhmm, I agree. I promise I'll help reel him in if I see the need." She tried to hide the next few lines but not with much effort. "I am glad I have you on the line though, I convinced Leonard to let me throw a birthday party for Sheldon. I don't care how much he puts up a fight. So, I want to invite you to stay with me if you would like to come. I have an extra bedroom with twin beds, so Missy and Meemaw are more than welcome to stay with me as well… I can't stand the thought of you pushed into a hotel when I am just getting to know you." A pause. "I will have Sheldon handle the details. It was lovely talking to you Mrs. Cooper."

Astonishing.

"Did you just tell Sheldon's mom to mind her own business?" Penny ventured, she couldn't believe anyone wanting to impress Sheldon's mother would also say something so bold.

"Essentially, yes. She actually seemed rather relieved. I wasn't rude was I?" She asked with concern.

"No, no." Leonard was finally able to speak. "It's just that we are all pretty surprised is all." Wow, this girl has his roommate's back.

Sheldon was thinking much the same as Leonard. She could be a buffer between himself and the controlling women in his life. Even if she ended up being mildly controlling too, which really hadn't happened yet, she would never make him do anything he didn't want so long as he was being socially appropriate. She could actually guide him without making him feel socially inept. Somehow she had managed to talk him into wearing one of the pairs of jeans Missy had sent him last week, just because she wanted to match when they went to the farmer's market (she even got around the germ infested produce by requesting items reserved as stock- how did she know about that?). It was then he realized how she managed to talk him into letting her throw a birthday party for him by her claiming that it could serve as his belated present to her (they met the day after her birthday.)

For a woman that could potentially improve every human relationship he has ever had he needed a better gift than that!

Before he knew it, Sheldon found himself at his white board trying to determine the appropriate gift for his level of friendship/interest with his new favorite member of the female sex.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thanks for reviews guys! Especially you, Jislane- your PMs are so encouraging.

The more reviews I get, the faster I write, so keep them coming!

I have a few surprises up my sleeves that will be coming out little by little. _Hint:_ In the next few chapters you may or may not recognize another CBS character.

I do not own the Big Bang Theory.

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><p>Ten days before his 30th birthday party and three days before the annual Chancellor's banquet, Sheldon found himself in his usual spot in the cafeteria at Cal Tech trying to drone out the monotony that was his friend's conversations about coitus and comic books. Half that conversation would have appealed to him before, all of it did now, but he had other problems. Dr. Gablehauser informed Sheldon, personally, that he was expected to attend the banquet despite the fact that he was not being presented with an award this year- and he was told to bring a date (so long as she was real).<p>

Of course he knew who he wanted to bring. There was only one woman up in the running in his mind yet he couldn't get himself to actually face it just yet. He still had a lot to examine when it came to his neighbor and himself. He wanted to take her on a date, he didn't want the first date to be so unromantic, he couldn't be positive that Christine would even want a real date with him, he was afraid of asking and placing his standing in his social group askew whether or not he was rejected. If she accepted, how would he handle the details? Should he try to romance her? Kiss her? He wanted that- but he doubted he was ready… and of course she must have had several partners before him. It would be terribly embarrassing if he was inadequate to meet her expectations, she was such a beautiful creature. Could she really like him? Is he reading too much into the little comments, gestures and mischievous smiles she sent his way?

He mumbled several of those last thoughts out loud without realizing his friends where listening to everyone word.

"Sheldon!" Leonard snapped in front of his face.

"What?"

"Man, just ask her to be your date for the banquet. She will want to go anyhow and it will give you a chance to show her you can be good on a date." Howard tried to assure his friend, before ruining the effect and offering in a stage whisper to Raj "not that I am sure he _can_ be good on a date."

"Real helpful guys." Leonard admonished.

"Sarcasm?" Sheldon asked, Leonard nodded. "12 for 12 this week!"

Raj rolled his eyes. "Back to the point, you have been zoning out all day week whenever anyone mentions her. You have to go for it dude, and do it with flair." Raj's romantic side couldn't help escaping toward the end.

"And I should take advice of a friend who until several weeks ago couldn't even speak to a woman until our new friend threatened you into asking out my ex?"

"Dude, are you not ok with that? I'm sorry if—"Raj hadn't even thought of the fact that you aren't supposed to date your friend's ex. He thought he learned that lesson when he had his tryst with Penny.

Sheldon cut him off "I don't care about that. -So long as you treat her with due respect." he added as an afterthought.

"Alright back on track here, Raj is partly right. Just yank off the Band-Aid and ask. You don't have to make a big deal about it."

"What if she doesn't like me that way?" Sheldon suddenly became very interested in his lunch tray.

'_Since when is Sheldon insecure?' _Leonard thought. "She does, trust us. Besides, this is more of a friend-date than a date-date."

"How sure are you? What is your margin of error in this assumption?"

'_Good, at least he still thinks you can solve everything with mathematics.' _"94.6 % with a 2 point margin of error." Howard pulled the figures out of his ass, but it seemed to pacify his lanky friend.

"Besides, taking her out might help you get a better idea on that gift you keep searching for. There's only so much help we can be."

Sheldon considered that. Surely taking her on a friend-date could help him bridge the topic and gauge her comfort level with a more intimate setting… perhaps it would give him the proper perspective, help him solve the social equation of gift reciprocity. He agreed it was worth a shot.

-T—B—B—T—

Christine didn't try to hide her smile from Penny as she heard the characteristic knock at her door.

_Knock. Knock. Knock._ "Christine."

_Knock. Knock. Knock._ "Christine."

_Knock. Knock. Knock._ "Christine."

"Hey Sheldon! What's up?" She noticed that Leonard, Howard and Raj were trying to hide themselves in the stairwell to eavesdrop, they really were not as skilled in spying as she was, not that she would expect them to be. "Would you like to come in?"

"Actually I just came to ask you if you would accompany me, as my date, to the Chancellor's banquette this Saturday night. I believe the rest of our social circle will be there as well."

He was asking her on a non-date. She smiled mentally, she would love a real date too but she had a lot to overcome emotionally before she could do that just yet… she meant what she said about commitment, once she does something she does it full on. "I would love to."

"Wonderful. I will send you an email with the details. I do believe it is customary to inform you of the proper attire, it is black ti,e however I have often observed a mix of women in early evening cocktail attire in the past as well."

Penny mentally mused that sometimes Sheldon's practical side could really be quite endearing. Apparently Christine thought so too. "Thank you Sheldon." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek, to which he blushed. "I will be sure to look for your itinerary in my inbox. I should probably start my dress search now, I know Penny will have a lot to say on the matter."

With that, Sheldon left the fifth floor, but not before shooting a dark gaze to his on looking friends who were careless in their spy efforts. He was sure Christine noticed them just as sure as he was that she noticed the blush he tried to hide. Trying to date a psychologist is going to be the death of him.

-T—B—B—T—

Penny and Bernadette tagged along with Christine on her trip to the mall the next day but were surprised when she informed them that she already had a dress to wear to the banquette. Instead she was willing to help them shop if they needed it, but was hoping that they would help her get the last of the supplies she needed for Sheldon's birthday party which was just over a week away.

Her list was as detailed and extensive as if it was Sheldon that wrote it. Not only did she have the item's name and price listed, but also a description, alternatives if it should be out of stock and a priority value from 1-10, 10 being "Sheldon must have this."- there was a handy key included in their shopping packets, yeah she made packets.

The first three stores the girls tried were all in the effort to get everything on the list. It wasn't until they passed the shoe store that Penny decided to focus a little on the banquet attire she needed. Christine seemd to visibly lighten as she helped Penny pick out (and pay for- she insisted) the most perfect pumps she ever saw. They were strappy and laced up her ankles delicately, but were understated and refined. And definitely more than Penny could afford since they cost $400. Penny didn't want to know why Christine had that much cash on her but was thankful nonetheless.

Next they hit the comic book store in the mall. Christine said she felt like a traitor going to such a commercial establishment with a subpar collection, but all she needed was a new preservation cover for one of her most valuable comics, so it wasn't such a travesty. Penny pointed out a set of flash napkins that would be great for the party. They were so overpriced, but that didn't seem to matter to Christine as she bought all 6 packs in stock and then matched the rest of the plates and plasticware to them at the party store. She even got red cone party hats with obnoxious silvery tassels.

"You know he's going to put up a stink about the hats right?" Penny asked as they were leaving the store.

Christine let an evil grin betray her. "I know. I'm using it as leverage. I told him if he behaves he doesn't have to wear one but if he makes a stink about anything-other than anyone touching his food- that I would strap one on his head, two on his chest and one down there- he looked horrified!"

Bernadette burst into little giggles, remembering Howard recounting that story to her in bed a few nights ago. Apparently she told him this in the Cal tech cafeteria and he was mortified before she told him she was sure he could behave and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. – that seemed to be his kryptonite.

Bernadette texted as much to Penny. Christine noticed they had been texting one another behind her back but paid no mind to it, she figured it was probably part of their scheming and not to be insulting.

When Penny read that Christine kissed his cheek in public and Sheldon didn't freak out she realized there was a big step there… doing it in private was one thing but Sheldon could hardly stand seeing others fist bump, never mind any sort of intimate gesture. He was coming along by leaps and bounds by Sheldon standards. This girl better be aware of how she's effecting him.

They returned to the car to put their heavy bags away before deciding to return to the mall and help Bernadette pick out her dress. Amy apparently had hers since two days before Raj asked her to go with him. She was still nervous about the progression of their relationship. She just got used to second base and wasn't sure she could go past that just yet. It was a good think Raj's ankle was only just now recovering, it sort of prevented more-athletic activities.

Penny also had her dress from her shopping trip with Amy, so only needed a purse to go with everything. All three girls were going through the options in the accessory department at Macy's trying to help one another find something suitable.

Penny used the opportunity to nonchalantly size up Christine's intentions toward her neighbor.

"So, you kinda got it bad for that whack-a-doodle huh?" Not very smooth, but Christine seemed to appreciate a direct approach.

Christine snorted, she even made that seem elegant. "He's a great guy. I'm surprised you never went after him."

Penny was a little perplexed as she took her newest friend in. She always seemed to on her game, always dressed with understated fashionista tendencies- in the classic sense. And she always carried herself with confidence but without conceit. But right now, she seem almost… weary? "I _was_ attracted to him at first, but then ya know, I realized he was crazy." She gave a mental face palm. 'Stupid!_ I shouldn't say things that could discourage her!'_

Christine wasn't ashamed to admit she was relieved. Penny and Sheldon almost had a chemistry about them, but he never appeared to show any serious intentions to her. That didn't mean she didn't worry- jealousy was certainly one of her many faults she tried to downplay. "That's exactly what I like about him. He's exactly who he is. I mean, I know you say he's been changing since he met me but I don't _want_ him to change who he is. Grow? Well yeah it would be nice to be able to actually have a relationship. But all those quirks and demands he makes just make him all the more endearing to me. The rules, and the routines and the inability to lie- it's all so innocent and simple. He is exactly who he is and I envy that."

'_Hallelujah!_' Both Bernadette and Penny mentally cheered, Penny especially. '_I never thought I would see the day a woman would love Sheldon for exactly who he is… I better not use the L word out loud anytime soon though.'_ Mentally, she made the gesture to zip her lips.

"Plus, I mean, look at that butt." Christine's comment jarred Penny out of her revelry.

"So why haven't you made a move yet?" Bernadette tried to cover the sounds of Penny chocking on her water and sputtering.

Christine sighed. She definitely couldn't tell them the whole reason, that being with her could put him in real danger. "Well part of it is that I am more the type to try to lure the guy in. I definitely like to be pursued. I realize Sheldon can be like a deer in headlights but I _have_ noticed that he goes after what he wants once he gets the right mindset to do it."

"Aren't you sick of waiting though? I mean it took his friends a lot to convince him he was ready to ask you on a friend-date, what if it takes months for him to advance to the real thing? And more time for the physical side?" Penny had real concerns about this, and when Sheldon becomes a topic of pillow talk you know it's a desperate problem they could all face.

For the first time Christine addressed them with near condescention, as if her reply was obvious to the whole world. "Have you ever seen how Sheldon focuses on one of his equations? Every ounce of his being entirely wrapped up in each finite detail of it, as if he is manipulating the very fabric of the universe with his attention? Don't you think that even a quarter of that focus paired with those long fingers and his obsessive need to master a topic turned on you in the sack would be worth months of wait?"

All three ladies shivered at the thought.


	6. Chapter 6

I do not own The Big Bang Theory.

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><p>It was Saturday morning which meant that Sheldon would be watching Doctor Who. Christine was finishing her cereal; having picked a selection from the high fiber end of her assortment- Sheldon asked her permission to reorganize some of her groceries last weekend. She was nervous and pacing back and forth in her kitchen since she woke up realizing that tonight would be her first official-non-official date with Sheldon and she still hadn't come to terms with what havoc her past could wreak upon any potential future with him.<p>

She wished it was as simple as not being over a cheating ex, or having some sort of emotional trauma… she did have a share in the latter but it was hardly of consequence. It was the nature of her life that was the problem. Could she ever willingly put Sheldon in the path of danger by being a potential tool for leverage by her enemies? They were numerous, and after blood.

More importantly, if she told Sheldon the truth (and for the first time in her life she wanted to) could he actually keep the secret? He could barely issue a white lie, and while it is part of what she has come to love about him… its not exactly going to help their survival.

What the hell was she supposed to do? She threw her bowl into the sink with too much force in her frustration. There was just no way she could _not_ keep falling for him. It was too late at this point, from the moment he showed up last night at her door with an impromptu gift she knew she was a goner. She rested her elbows on the kitchen island as she recalled it.

_Knock. Knock. Knock._ "Christine."

_Knock. Knock. Knock._ "Christine."

_Knock. Knock. Knock._ "Christine."

Christine had waited at her door eagerly until Sheldon finished his knock. How could anyone think that was anything less than charming?

She wondered what he was doing there though, last time he saw her he said he would see her next when he picked her up for the Chancellor's banquet which wasn't until Saturday night.

"Hey Sheldon." She no longer tried hiding her smile from him, she was surprised to find herself blushing when his deep blue eyes fixated on her own. She hardly noticed Sheldon's typical stance with his hands behind his back, though she did catch his quick glance down towards her cleavage, deepening her blush even more.

"Hello Christine. My research on the subject indicates that it is considered a nice gesture to present the subject of one's—" he hesitated and mumbled the nest two words, "amorous interests with a token or a gift. I realize flowers are more traditional but I recall you saying they remind you of funerals. So here, I hope you like it."

Sheldon switched his right hand from his back to hold out its contents to Christine. It was an origami elephant made of black matte paper. It was posed in the exact stance as the elephant silhouette tattoo she had on the inside of her left wrist. He was just so observant sometimes.

Her eyes began to tear up but she pushed them back, she knew Sheldon probably would not understand they were tears of happiness… he hadn't advanced _that_ much yet, then again a lot of men still don't get that.

"Its beautiful. A perfect token, Sheldon." She realized that nearly all of physical contact between the two since their meeting from the elevator had been initiated by her and she didn't want to keep that practice up, but she couldn't help her magnetic draw to hug him.

She stood on her tippy toes as he naturally bent his knees to meet her embrace. He wanted to pull away and kiss her but he could feel each breath she took as he held her against him. Her pulse quickened and his matched it in pace and rhythm. But the tender moment of each of them further nuzzling the other's cheek as if they couldn't get enough of the innocent yet intimate contact was too sweet to spoil. For both of them it was the only embrace they individually experienced thus far that ever spoke of pure emotional satisfaction.

And both could have killed Leonard as he walked up the stairs to retrieve Sheldon, apparently it was his turn on the original Donkey Kong. They both parted with deep sighs and said nothing to one another as Sheldon began to curse his roommate under his breath and Christine returned to her apartment cursing her past.

That stupid past (and still sorta present)! How on earth was she supposed to tell him that she worked for the blank, blank, blank when she couldn't trust that he could keep the color of her underwear a secret—though that would certainly be a nice experiment to try…

'_That's what I need! An experiment or two, see if Sheldon could learn to keep secrets, maybe even lie a little. After all, no one thinks he could do it, his lies would be all the more believable. Ya know, while I am at it, I should also show him my expanding contingency plans that include him- ah, and the group!" _ With that she grabbed a binder off one of her book shelves with purpose and marched towards 4A with determination.

-T—B—B—T-

_Knock. Knock. Knock._ [S.]

_Knock. Knock. Knock._ [O.]

_Knock. Knock. Knock._ [S.]

"Who knocks in morse code?" Leonard wondered aloud as he opened the door for Christine. He returned to the kitchen where he and Penny were enjoying their morning coffee as he watched Christine determinedly take her spot next to Sheldon on the sofa. Her arrival coincided with the end of Doctor Who so Sheldon switched off the television just as she lowered herself in her seat.

"Sheldon, I have been thinking about the apocalypse." She announced.

Over in the kitchen Penny's eyebrows raised as she muttered to Leonard "That's an original greeting."

Leonard giggled in concert with her. "Hey, it is Sheldon she's talking to. That's probably the hottest thing a woman has said to him this whole year."

Both Sheldon and Christine heard the little comments flitting about from the kitchen and both chose to ignore them.

"What about the apocalypse in particular has you so flushed this morning?" It was an innocent question but threw Christine off her rocker for a minute; she didn't realize she was blushing wildly until that moment. Sheesh, just being around him got her going now.

"Well as I have examined our social circle it has come to my attention that you have most likely already prepared an extensive set of plans for the continued survival of the group. However, I consider myself somewhat of a survivalist and therefor have my own contingencies- which include other circumstances unrelated to the apocalypse but still of great important- and thought it would be best if we coordinate." She held up her binder. "Do you have an organized set of plans of your own so we can compare notes, as they say?"

"I certainly do." Sheldon extracted his green binder from the top drawer of his desk. It contained all of his written contingency plans. He of course would have no need to reference the materials with his eidetic memory and having put the forethought into creating the plans. But if he should be separated from the group for any reason at inset of the apocalypse, Leonard and Penny both knew its location so they could attempt survival on their own.

He handed her the binder and took hers, flipping through the pages in quick succession. "Oh, you even included an index!" He exclaimed, excitedly. "How would you like to go about this? Should we read our plans together and compare or shall we read over their merits separately?"

"How 'bout we each consider one another's binders independently and meet at a later date to consolidate their contents?"

Sheldon agreed that made sense. He hardly had time to go over the full binder today. He had to make sure his tux was perfect for tonight and since the banquet would take up his full evening and night he needed to do laundry at noon.

Christine rose from her seat and excused herself, but not before remembering that she needed to try a small scale experiment to test Sheldon's comfort with deception. She slinked back to Sheldon's side in her spot and put her mouth to his ear. As a general rule he despised someone else's breath in such proximity but the feel of hers ruffling in his hair shut down all his objections. And if that hadn't, the sweet smell of her jasmine shampoo would have.

"I need a favor." She whispered. "Your mother gave me her recipe for fried chicken. Please don't tell her that I switched a few of her ingredients out in favor of some improvements."

She watched his face, not even a tick. He turned his face towards her ear so they were almost nuzzling one another like they had last night. Her breath hitched.

"I am generally uncomfortable with deceit but in this circumstance I shall endeavor to deserve your trust in the matter." She had to shoot up out of her seat to keep from kissing all the way up his neck.

"Thank you." She tried to regain composure and hurriedly left the apartment.

Once she returned to her own and calmed down, she called Mrs. Cooper and hinted at, but did not outright admit, that she altered some of her ingredient choices. When Mrs. Cooper informed her that she would be calling Sheldon tomorrow to finalize the travel arrangements for his birthday party next week, she decided that would be the best time to drop in on the call and see if Sheldon could handle being confronted with the suspicions his mother no doubt had.

-T—B—B—T—

Penny and Leonard watched on as Sheldon excused himself to his room to look over some of the contents of Christine's contingency binder.

The fact that she even had one was impressive. He had made a thorough examination of her bookshelves and display cases-which incidentally contained a very large collection of trinket boxes. But he had failed to notice this particular binder. Perhaps it was because it was unlabeled, or maybe it was purposely mislabeled before she handed it to him to throw off any intruders- she did say it had more than just apocalypse contingencies at the hand.

That was curious as well. What sort of disasters would she take such care to plan for when it wasn't something that could not be otherwise dealt with by the federal government or common sense?

He decided to examine the table of contents and found that she had organized plans into three colored sections. Yellow seemed to deal with 'Acts of God' phenomena. Green dealt with man-made disaster such as zombies (he was pleased to note she took into account 27 separate types and causes of the condition) and purple seemed to deal with other emergencies. These were troubling.

Why had she felt the need to prepare for a sniper attack? And why was it necessary that whoever "finds this volume understand that they are most likely in imminent danger if they are reading this passage"?

He brought the binder down with him to the laundry room as he continued on with his day. He read through one of the nuclear preparation plans and was pleased that it expanded on his plans to include the possibility that the micro-organisms essential for several biological processes which enable one to grow plant life could be killed off, leaving the earth barren. She must have revised the binder not long ago because she pointed out that between Bernadette and herself the two could fix that problem with access to a lab and storage facility containing starting specimens.

All of her plans were impressive. In some areas in the apocalypse sections she had some holes that needed filling, such as how were they to get a beach house? It would be convenient, sure, if the last major food source was fishing, but were they supposed to squat in an abandoned house? It did not make a lot of sense, but he could overcome that.

Her real strength was the purple section. It seemed she coyly left out several details but left clues to key persons and information, such as the location of key passports and documents should they need to change their identities (apparently they were already arranged and purchased for each group member and hidden so thouroughly only someone of Sheldon's intelligence could ever possibly determine their location).

Sheldon could not help but wonder what practical applications these plans would have and why his date for tonight had instructions for making homemade pepper spray in the appendix. Was she scared living alone or walking at night? She tended to go out for evening walks that could last for hours into the night. Perhaps he should brave the mean streets of Pasadena and accompany her.

-T—B—B—T—

As Sheldon deposited his laundry in his room and began to dress in his tux, he noted that while he was certainly perplexed by some of the worries his date for the night seemed to have on survival issues, that he could hardly focus on the fact. His attention kept drifting to the knowledge that above him she was getting ready with Amy and Bernadette in her apartment. He could hear her light footsteps cross her floor above.

He tried to focus on fixing his shirt cuffs but was distracted by the thought of her doing her hair. When he tied his tie around his neck he hoped she wouldn't alter her usual scent choices that so perfectly complemented her natural pheromones. And when he fastened and refastened his buckle to make sure it was at the appropriate length he couldn't help but let his mind drift to a vision of her shimmying into her dress for the night.

"Hey Sheldon!" Leonard peeked into the forbidden bedroom after he knocked three times with no answer. He noticed Sheldon staring off into space. He must be nervous.

"Ready for tonight?"

Sheldon looked up to his friend and ignored his bedroom rules for once. "Leonard, if at any point during the evening you feel the need to make a comment about my infatuation with our neighbor, please remember that her hearing is almost as good as mine." His lecture then turned to pleading. "Please make me look good."

Leonard smiled brightly as he followed Sheldon out the apartment door.

* * *

><p>The actual banquet is next, I swear. Thanks for hanging in there guys! Its so great seeing so many alerts in my inbox.<p> 


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: I got a nice long chapter here for ya. Hope you like it!

Be sure to check my profile for links to Christine's dress and the cover that Jislane so kindly made.

Please review!

I do not own The Big Bang Theory

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><p>"So are you ready for your big date Sheldon?" Penny asked teasingly as she climbed the stairs with Leonard, Sheldon and Howard in tow.<p>

She was wearing a multi-length light green dress with a high back and extremely revealing low front. She could pull it off of course and it would get lots of attention from any heterosexual male. She wore the pumps that Christine helped her buy and let her hair fall loose on her shoulders. She had wanted to put it up in a high do, but she was already an inch taller than Leonard in her heels so she decided against it.

All the guys were in tuxes, which of course looked incredible on Sheldon's tall frame. It even highlighted his oddly built upper body and made him look, well more of a man than a man-child.

Penny couldn't help but think that he looked like a perfect and true gentleman. '_Christine's knight in shining armor is turning into a prince tonight'_ Penny laughed at herself; she was starting to sound like Raj.

Speak of the devil; Raj opened the door from inside Christine's apartment. He had been used to needing an extra fifteen minutes to get anywhere with his bad ankle, but as it was starting to mend he hadn't yet adjusted to moving at a more normal pace again so he had gotten there ten minutes ago.

"Hey." He noticed Penny and smiled proudly. "Penny, you look lovely this evening."

"I don't think I am ever going to get used to that." Penny muttered as she passed through the door with the guys in tow. Raj speaking to women was as strange as thinking that she was about to witness another of Sheldon's first dates.

She looked over at him. He was visibly nervous. He already wiped his hands on his pants three times just climbing the stairs. Leonard gave him a pat on the back deciding that whether he took comfort in it or despised the contact it would at least distract him for a bit. Sheldon simply shrugged off the gesture.

"We will be out in a minute!" Bernadette called from the back hall of the apartment. "We're just getting our dresses on!"

Sheldon looked to Penny as she explained to the guys. "You have to put the dress on after you do hair and makeup so you don't take the chance of getting something on it." Sheldon nodded appreciatively. That made sense.

Bernadette came out wearing a dark blue knee length, strapless dress. It was ruttched around the midsection, highlighting her waist and bust. Tonight she wore contacts and light make up that made her simple hairdo and blue eyes pop. Similarly, Howard's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. '_I am so hittin' that tonight.'_

Following her, came Amy. She was also wearing a knee length dress of chocolate silk. It was a halter top and straight skirt and it perfectly complemented her mousy brown hair that she wore straight as always. The whole sight made Raj suddenly very (guiltily) thankful that Sheldon blew that chance.

But in her usual fashion, Christine was not to be beat in her understated elegance. She emerged into the living room wearing a full length crepe black dress with a boat neck front and deep v back. It had flutter sleeves that split at the shoulders which drew attention to her bust, but not suggestively so. It fell in a slim mermaid shape that hugged her hourglass waist and hips with a front split that ended just above her knee, making the fabric shimmy around her legs as she stalked toward Sheldon.

"Holy crap on a cracker." Sheldon breathed the Penny-ism in awe.

The group watched on as Sheldon gently swept the back of his hands along the line of Christine's swooping side bangs that perfectly complemented her curls that were pulled into a classic French twist. He ran two fingers along the edge of her ear and down her jawbone slowly tracing his way along the soft skin to the tip of her chin. He was taking in every slight twitch of her cheek as she responded to the sensation; and the rosy glow that began to rise in her complexion gave Sheldon the most confidence he ever had in such an intimate setting.

She couldn't breathe as she took in his expression… a hint of that focus she so wishes he would someday turn on her in the bedroom. That definitely needed to happen. It was like he was studying her every minute reaction to his presence. And the feather light strokes along her face made her realize that not only was that a new erogenous zone he discovered for her but that all their interactions would be simultaneously passionate and gentle, a combination she always hoped for yet never dared dream she would find.

Sheldon forgot everyone else was in the room and waiting until Howard rudely interrupted with a small sneeze. Every ounce of his being wanted to just throw Christine over his shoulder and carry her to the back bedroom where he would gently caress every millimeter of her body. But, he was a gentleman escorting his lady to a social function, so he simply offered her his arm and escorted her towards the two cars.

He silently thanked his mother for the forced cotillion lessons he had to endure as a child. They finally proved their worth this evening.

-T—B—B—T—

As they entered the foyer at the ballroom entrance it was apparent that Christine would gardener a great deal of attention from both sexes. She clung to Sheldon loosely but possessively as he signed the two in and gathered the group's table assignments. He noticed that there were eight of them and the tables were set for ten, so he wondered who would be joining the group for the evening.

Christine did not care to stake out their table, but rather wanted to be shown around the room for a bit. She informed Sheldon that it would be beneficial to his career if he at least pretended to care what other people thought of him. He didn't quite understand how 'mingling' would change the opinions of others, especially after one night. But, she was the expert in humanities.

Sheldon introduced her to a few members of the geology department. He noted that she easily redirected the conversation from work or politics towards more even tempered topics. When Dr. Miles whose specialty was seismology began a diatribe about the inefficiency of the state government to respond to his pleas for more public funding of earthquake preparedness programs, Christine gave a throaty little laugh. "Yes, that sounds about right. I have an idea, let's sick my dear Sheldon here on them. He could probably get them to listen to you by sheer will."

Incredible, she signed him up for a favor to someone he could care less about… was she trying to enrage him?

"I'm sure, I'm sure. But of course," Dr. Mile's wife responded "my husband's frequent rants have probably traumatized the poor soul that has to read all those emails enough. We don't want to take down the whole administration now do we?" The two women giggled conspiratorially.

There were several more exchanges such as these and Sheldon realized that Christine knew _exactly_ what she was doing. First, she would approach the topic of conversation by agreeing with the other's point of view indiscriminately. Then she would entirely disagree with them by asking them to agree on her differing opinion (which she was always right, for the record) and then charmingly offer his own regard to the evils the other person faced. This was to serve as a method of bonding in Sheldon appearing to put forth the effort. By social custom such offers of assistance were to be refused but with an air of thanksgiving. Apparently women were masters at getting their husbands to properly mingle. Fascinating, no wonder why Dr. Camden was able to procure increased funding last year despite the fact his research was unlikely to produce sufficient results before he finally passed on.

How pragmatic.

Sheldon began to stand taller now with Christine on his arm. She already charmed several of the tenured faculty in his department and of course Dr. Gablehauser recognized her.

"Ah, Dr. Thomas!" He kissed the back of both her hands, much to Sheldon's chagrin. "I see you have met Dr. Cooper. I hope he is being polite this evening." He meant to offer it as a warning to Sheldon but trying to pass it off as charming. It might have worked if Christine couldn't see right through him. As much as she respected Dr. Gablehauser, she could spot a man jealous of another's talent a mile away.

"Actually. I am Sheldon's date. We have been seeing each other for a while now." Hey, it was as good a time as any to push the deception thing.

Sheldon looked taken aback for a moment. They have been seeing one another? Why didn't he know about this? Then when he caught that familiar glint of mischief in her eye he understood. This was a ruse.

"My my, Dr. Cooper. I am surprised to be sure but you should be congratulated. I knew our young friend here since she was this high." He made a height gesture just above his knee.

"I did not know you had a previous acquaintance with Dr. Gablehauser." It was both a statement and a question and directed directly to her, ignoring the university president.

She tried to include them both in her explanation. "My father hired a governess for me when I was about four since the educational system in the Ukraine could not adjust to my intelligence and needs." Not quite the truth, but close enough. "She introduced us when I was about four years old. When I was eleven Dr. Gablehauser helped her look at universities with me. At first some of the universities were vying for me for different departments before I firmly informed everyone I would study chemistry and medicine until I decided otherwise. Dr. Gablehauser supported the decision."

"Well then I must thank you sir." Sheldon stuck out his hand in the unfamiliar gesture of a hand shake. What on earth was being with this woman doing to him? "Your support inevitably affected the timeline which led her towards our relationship."

Dr. Gablehauser took his hand awkwardly, wondering how on earth Sheldon of all people finally got the young woman to commit to anyone. The several times he saw her since she was in her teens she never held a steady boyfriend… she was notoriously afraid of commitment. Incredible. Wonders never cease.

-T—B—B—T—

Christine talked her way through the room on Sheldon's arm until it came time for dinner. When they approached the table, he held out her chair for her, forcing his friends to follow his example with their ladies.

The last two seats were to Christine's right with Sheldon on her left. When they were filled with the two individuals introduced to Christine as Barry Kripke and Leslie Winkle, she recognized them as being two of the sixty one names on Sheldon's enemies list… it was so helpful that he documented such things.

Kripke was obviously a creep. He let his eyes wander down her exposed back and along defined clavicles, obviously wishing her dress was a little more revealing in the front. '_How horrendous.'_ Christine thought. '_He's here with that Winkle, though I almost feel bad for him for that, and he's sizing me up like he actually has a chance! HAH!'_

"Soww, tew me Coopwer. How much ew pay for 'err?"

Sheldon rose out of his seat automatically, ready to defend his date's honor. How dare he suggest such a thing! She is far too perfect a woman to submit to such lows. Besides, Penny is the one dressed like she's on display. Christine was purely demure.

Sheldon's anger was slowly cooled with Christine's hand on the middle of his chest. She looked at him with pride and pleading for him to behave. He read her thoughts '_Don't let this creep ruin our evening.'_

The incident lasted just a few seconds and they quickly retained their seats but while doing so Christine's spunk just didn't subside as she addressed Kripke. "Why? How much is _she_ charging _you_?" she pointed a finger at Leslie.

He looked offended on several levels. The first being that if he had to pay for it, it would not be for Winkle. And secondly, while not his favorite person, she _was_ his date. "Nothing!"

"Oh, well, you still paid too much."

Oh snap! Penny smiled into her wine glass. If Christine weren't already her favorite person she certainly was now.

The subdued duo asked a couple at another table to switch seats. The newcomers were surprisingly quiet. Christine realized it was because they didn't speak much English. Judging by their complextion and a garmet the woman wore she judged them to most likely be from Pakistan.

"Khush Aamdeed!"

The couple was visibly relieved to be brought from their silence. "Salam!" The woman replied. "Bahut Bahut Shukriya!"

Christine smiled. It must be so sad to be terribly thankful just to be able to communicate with someone. She had lived almost her entire life abroad so she just naturally spoke several languages.

Howard looked to Sheldon. "Is she speaking Arabic?"

Sheldon shook his head no. "Urdu I believe."

Leonard leaned into the conversation as Christine continued with the couple. "She speaks Urdu?"

"Yes, among other things." He tugged on her flutter sleeve to get her attention.

"What languages do you speak? You only told me a few of them."

"French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, German, Mandarin, Czech, Arabic, Pashtu, Urdu and Hindi."

Everyone exchanged a look which clearly stated _Holy crap he met his match._

Penny suggested Leonard ask her to dance and soon the only couple at the table was Sheldon and Christine.

"Well, I scared them off didn't I?" she took a timid sip of her water.

He was pleased to note that while she took a few obligatory sips of her wine during the toasts she preferred the nonalcoholic options available to her. Penny had asked her about it and she responded by informing her she preferred to always have full reign of her mental faculties.

"I think they are rather impressed with you. From what I have seen you are very much loved in our social group."

She always seemed to be smiling around him and now was no different. "I just hate to make things awkward for people. I always found making friends easy, but keeping them pretty hard."

Sheldon nodded in understanding. "I assume it would be difficult with your frequent location changes. I always had the opposite problem." He hesitated; he had wanted to ask the next question for some time now. "Do you anticipate you will be remaining in Pasadena for some time?" He didn't think he could handle a long distance relationship, his research indicated that it was full of perils.

Christine closed her eyes for a moment to regain her composure. She hadn't expected he would worry about that just yet. "I fully intend to remain as long as possible. It would be a new experience, a permanent residence." She hoped to come off as reassuring. She really did intend as such, but could she manage to avoid having to run again? Hopefully.

"Would you like to dance?" Sheldon seemed to remember that was probably expected of him.

"I thought that there was no universe in which you danced?"

"Your introduction into the reality of this universe seems to have altered that standpoint." He took her hand without answer and led her to the floor.

Several couples had begun to retreat from the dance, including all of their friends, as it was a complex Venetian waltz. It was incredibly surprising to them all to watch Sheldon and Christine effortlessly perform the movements as they were art.

Immediately both had recognized the routine as that which Stanford had arranged several years ago. Why either of them paid attention to such things was beyond anyone's comprehension. But nevertheless it served for an incredible sight.

He diped her, lifted her and swooped about in tandem to the other couples present. Their eyes locked on every turn and remained in contact even during the parts of the number where they switched partners.

As Penny looked on she couldn't help but think that between the dance, the dress and the hair, that Christine carried herself with elegance and an edge. It was like she was a biker chick in a Jane Austen novel. And as she watched Sheldon, she came to the conclusion that in all likelihood that was exactly on the money. Who else could ever be a modern equivalent of Darcy? Tough, conceited and brought to earth by an elegant female… Sheldon's very gaze betrayed him. He was a man two steps from falling head over heels in love.

The dance ended with much applause and they began another, more intimate number. Sheldon held her a little too close but she relished being able to put her head against his chest just under his chin. She wouldn't be able to that without her high heels so it was a wonder feeling when he responded by resting his head on hers.

They held one another there for several minutes, more swaying to the music than interacting to it through a well-executed dance. But neither minded. It was a perfect moment in its own. It felt more real now, their affections. A sense of inevitability came over them.

"I have observed," Sheldon broke the easy silence and Christine moved to look back up at him. "That you often enjoy an evening walk. Would you care to join me tonight? Perhaps we could take a route through the park and take a cab home from there?"

Oh poor innocent Sheldon, actually believing her walks were just that. She hadn't just strolled without aim in years. "I would love that."

-T—B—B—T—

Sheldon was quite pleased when Christine switched her grasp on his elbow down his arm and to his hand. He interlaced their fingers as he led Christine through the edge of the campus, pointing out the locations of several labs and what research was being done in particular buildings.

She enjoyed the simple company of Sheldon with or without his hobbies. He was much like her in that he took an interest in so many things. His friends probably overlooked that he did in fact pay attention to other happenings in the university; he probably studiously read every mass faculty email.

They rounded a corner and entered the large park that housed several specimen trees and plant life. Sheldon began to argue with her over whether or not a particular tree would be classified as coniferous or not had it been planted in another climate. She enjoyed the back and forth, but it was easy and not terribly combative. It had chemistry though, a sense of challenge without the threat of anger.

"Do you not like any flowers?" Sheldon asked.

"I enjoy broccoli." Sheldon gave a breathy laugh, so few people remembered it's really an edible flower and not a vegetable.

"You know what I mean. They all remind you of funerals?"

"I have been to a lot of funerals. Too many." Christine became very interested in her feet.

"Perhaps you need to attend more occasions where they have a positive connotation, such as a wedding. I do believe the opportunity will arise soon enough as I found the ring Leonard intends to present to Penny tonight."

"He's proposing tonight?" She couldn't believe when she saw the little mischievous smile she often wore on Sheldon's face.

"You mustn't tell Leonard you know. While I believe if we were a couple it would be expected that I share secrets with you, I do believe he would be mad since that is not the case."

Hmm… so he can keep the things that count, sort of. She can work with that. He's not ready yet but he could get there. What a relief!

"Hold it right there!" The foreign voice demanded behind them. Christine knew what this was, she was just thankful it was some small time random crime and not one of her own enemies "Turn around!" the voice demanded.

They complied slowly. Sheldon, bless his heart moved to stand between her and the threat, his arm holding her back.

When she saw the gun she let out a small breath. She knew how to handle this; unfortunately Sheldon would get a good peak at something she rather keep hidden.

"You do realize that at this proximity that by the time you unlock the safety, take aim and pull the trigger that a knife in the right hands could already be at your throat don't you?"

Sheldon stiffened and whispered over his shoulder. "Don't provoke him!"

She remained quite calm. "I am simply offering a friendly warning dear." She took the time to move herself just a few inches to the right, away from Sheldon's body.

"Yeah, yeah. Enough of the banter. Make with the wallet man." As Sheldon reached into his jacket pocket Christine extracted the knife strapped to her inner thigh, swiveled around Sheldon's body and placed the blade again the assailant's Adam's apple in one fluid movement. It took exactly 1.9 seconds.

"Holy fuck." He choked out.

"Drop it." She commanded.

He did, it did not go off.

"Please don't hurt me, please!" He began to beg, tears welling up in his eyes. "I wouldn't have really hurt you, its just this economy! I have three kids and can't get work! There aren't any bullets in the chamber, just look!"

She channeled Sheldon's condescension. (Who was thoroughly confused at the moment) "Don't you think I already know that? Please, what am I an amateur?"

He only responded with a bubble of mumbles.

"Give this up. You never know who you are mugging or what they are capable of." She withdrew the blade and returned it to somewhere in her dress, neither man saw. She took out a card in her purse. "Here, call this number tomorrow morning and tell them Christine sent you. They will help."

He couldn't even utter a thank you he was still so scared as he ran off in the direction they came.

Christine retook Sheldon's hand as they continued on. "What was on the card you gave him?"

"It's a number for an employment agency. Not all criminals are bad Sheldon; there are much more real evils out in the world, trust me."

The cab ride home was silent as Sheldon thought over the night. He had a wonderful time with her, up until the mugging. Instead of reacting in fear, Christine reacted like the situation was her comfort zone. Was that just because she was confident by nature? What about the knife? Why did she have that, and at the banquet?

He was in love with her, he was sure. He knew that the minute she foiled Leslie and Kripke in a single beat. But there was still more he needed to know.

As he walked her to her door he realized that he wanted to show her his feelings but did not want to rush this.

"I had a wonderful time Sheldon, except that end part of course."

"You handled it quite well. I doubt Penny's junior rodeo skills could have hardly come close to taming that situation as you did."

Oh how she regretted taking action, but this was part of her. She didn't want to hide herself from the man she loved. Yes, she made that transition when he stood to defender her against his two enemies. He needed to find out about this sooner or later. She had hoped for later.

"I'm sorry about that. It did spoil the night didn't it?"

"No!" Sheldon didn't want her thinking she did something wrong, he was impressed! "No," more calmly. "You were incredible. Perhaps we should try this again? Maybe next time we won't be victims of crime."

"Are you asking me on a real date Sheldon?"

He held his breath and started to stare at his shoes. This was the moment of truth, putting it out on the line. "Yes. I suggest it take place after you are no longer stressed with the responsibilities of my party, as I intend to make the experience as perfect as possible."

She cheered in her head, that was such an adorable, thoughtful and romantic request. "Then I suggest we save the goodnight kiss for then."

He looked up, she wanted to kiss him? '_YES!'_ "An excellent idea, however I do think I must do this tonight." He pulled her into a hug that lined their bodies together so that he could feel her every curve mold to his solid frame.

As one hand held her back, the other gently laced into her hair and pulled her forehead to his lips. Her eyes involuntarily closed in the pleasure of the contact. She didn't think her lungs would ever hold air again as her chest clench in excitement. He turned his head to rest on hers just as they did on the dance floor and held her there for a few minutes before placing another quick peck above eyebrows and retreating down the stairs.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I affectionately call this chapter the Momma Bear Prerogative.

The ending is specially for you Jislane. Hope you like it.

I do not own the Big Bang Theory.

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><p>She didn't recognize this knock. It just sounded like the same generic knock everyone uses, so she was sure to check the Picture-in-picture security monitor on her TV before she opened up. It was Raj.<p>

"Hey Raj, shouldn't you be in work?" he stepped aside in the hallway to reveal Sheldon who was blowing his nose and trying to suppress a cough.

"Sweetheart, you're a mess! Get in here." She pulled him in by his forearm.

"I had to drive him home. This cold came out of nowhere." Raj informed her. He hadn't wanted to be stuck with Sheldon if things got to code: milky green. '_Wait, she's a doctor! Oh, thank God Sheldon found someone to play nurse Uhura to his Spock._'

"He's locked out, do you have the emergency key?" It was getting really easy to talk to Christine, she could snap on him and make him do it anyhow… it was best to just try his hardest at all times when around her to act normal, it was starting to be second nature.

She looked to him and replied that she did and then turned her attention to Sheldon. "I think you should stay here though, where I can keep an eye on you. I have too much to do for the party tomorrow to come down stairs all day, besides I have better medical supplies."

Sheldon ached for the comfort of his bedroom but she had a point about the medical supplies. If he was to need immediate attention, her trauma skills could prove essential to his survival. Plus, it meant he got to spend more time with her. She wasn't around much this week.

"Ok. Do you have soup?" She laughed as she showed Raj out and returned with a first aid kit and thermometer to take Sheldon's temperature.

"No, but I will make you some. I met this gypsy once that had just the best recipe for it."

Sheldon had to wait a few more seconds for the thermometer to come out of his mouth before he could respond. "You always have the most interesting answers to my queries."

"I aim to please. Would you like me to take your vitals?" Sheldon nodded yes. She pulled her stethoscope out of the first aid kit and took his blood pressure before listening to his breathing. She was pleased to hear nothing abnormal until she stuck her hand up the back of his shirt and made contact with his skin… then she was even more pleased by the sharp uptake of air she heard. Good, she was getting to him as much as he got to her.

"Why don't you lie down in the guest bedroom? I just made up the beds with new linens in preparation for your mother and Meemaw's visit. Its too bad Missy won't be able to make it." They began to walk to the bedroom.

"I think my mother is onto you, by the way, about changing her recipe. She asked me if I noticed a difference in taste but I told her I did not. I believe the proper phrase here is 'you owe me one'. "

'_YES! He can lie! Oh, God. How terrible is it that that's a good thing? But at least he's still his old self, its not like I changed him, I hope.'_ "Here, sit down." She pulled back the blankets. "I am going to go get your Friday pajamas for you to change into. You want anything else from your apartment?"

"Just my Cylon toaster please."

-T—B—B—T—

Penny called a few hours later asking her if she was alright taking care of Sheldon, he could be a handful.

"Thanks for the call Penny, but everything is fine. I am just making him some soup now. He's laying down watching one of my classic Carebears DVDs."

Penny had felt bad when she learned that in addition to having to do so much prep work for the party tomorrow that she would be bogged down with a sick Sheldon. The girl had taken the day off work for cooking and finishing decorations and had been freaking out the night before about all the little details.

"Ok. So long as he's not stressing you out. I will be home in a few hours from my shift, do you need anything?"

"Actually yes, could you pick up a cupcake or something? The birthday cake has nuts in it, and I'm not sure if Howard is allergic to treenuts as well as peanuts or not."

"Huh," Penny paused. "I never thought to ask. There's a difference? Of course there is if you are making the distinction. Yeah, sure. I'll bring a slice of his favorite cheesecake."

Christine thanked Penny and hung up the phone as she simultaneously ladled out a bowlful of her homemade chicken soup. She loaded a tray with a bottle of Sheldon's favorite water and a piece of Cylon toast- it took her three tries to get the image perfectly in the center.

She didn't bother knocking on the bedroom door; she knew he was up as she heard him cough.

"You are right, the Carebears are much less obnoxious when you are sick." He didn't look away from the bedroom TV as he greeted her.

"Sit up and eat, you need your strength. Your mother will kill me, and I will kill you if you aren't well for your party tomorrow." Sheldon sat up, unhappy with himself that he considered the possibility that she _could_ easily kill him judging by what happened with that mugger last weekend. He sampled the soup experimentally while Christine made herself comfortable sitting at the end of the bed.

"You're right, this _is _the best chicken soup recipe. Please don't tell my Meemaw I said that."

"Your secret is safe with me sweetie." She pat his leg absentmindedly.

Sheldon pause to consider. "Thank you,- hu-honey_." _he said, experimentally. Pet names were not something he ever chose to adopt before now.

"Honey? Aww sweetie, you are too cute." She leaned over his food to kiss his cheek and quickly pulled back. "You just call me whatever you want."

Sheldon finished his food, happily taking note that she made sure his toast was in perfect center and that she started stocking his preferred brand of water in her apartment. He once read that couples who are advancing in commitment begin to consider one another's needs. He had considered this before but it seemed more important now that he keep a steady supply in his apartment of that Greek yogurt she can't seem to get enough of. Honestly, she probably ate three cups of it every day.

"Would you get my mail later and read it to me?"

"Sure sweetie, no problem."

"Thank you for taking care of me." He was so shy when he said it should couldn't help but smile in return. Of course she would care for him!

She removed the tray to the bureau and grabbed a jar off of the nightstand. "Want me to rub vaporub on your chest? I don't want you congested." Oh how she wanted to get her hands on him.

He lifted his shirt. "Counter clockwise please, otherwise my chest hair mattes." _'No one other than momma and Meemaw has ever been so eager to take care of me.'_

He watched her face as she focused on her work, gently rubbing in small circles and expanding with each round. She was getting dangerously close to his nipples which seemed incredibly sensitive at the anticipation of it. Round, round, closer, closer, almost… damn it! She pulled away. Oh well.

He let out another cough. "Would you sing Soft Kitty to me?"

"Soft kitty, warm kitty," her voice was smooth and buttery "little ball of fur, happy kitty, sleepy kitty, pur, pur, pur."

He felt his eyes closing in the comfort of his song. In a half whisper before he fell asleep he had to ask. "How did you know the lyrics?"

Christine leaned back over the bed as she got up to leave him to sleep in peace. She kissed his forehead. "Meemaw prepared me. Sleep tight."

-T—B—B—T—

Christine retrieved Sheldon's mail from the apartment downstairs just as everyone was gathering around for dinner. Leonard had asked her if she was staying and if Sheldon would be coming down but she said she thought it would be best if they both stayed at her place for the night. She realized how that probably sounded, but it wasn't really any of their business.

She immediately walked back to Sheldon's room for the night and sat at the end of his bed. He jostled awake as her weight shifted the mattress under him.

"Is that my mail?" he asked drowsily. "Would you read it to me?"

She opened the first letter. It was from Meemaw. He never used to let anyone read those but he trusted Christine. He did not have much to hide from her now.

_Dear Shelly,_

_I am glad you had a good evening with that young lady we will be meeting this weekend. From our telephone conversations she seems very charming and respectful. Missy helped me create a Facebook account and Christine was one of the first people to add me as a friend. I expect you to do the same young man. She is very beautiful. You hold onto her._

_Your momma and I will be quite excited to see you on Saturday morning when you and Leonard pick us up from the airport. I have never been to California before, so please leave some wiggle room in your itinerary for me to see the sights. And leave room cookies, I am bringing you three tins full._

_Love always,_

_Meemaw._

Christine smiled as she placed the letter on the night stand. Being in good with Meemaw was really good news. It made her a lot less nervous about meeting them tomorrow. She opened the other letter from the National Science Foundation.

_Dear Dr. Cooper,_

_I regret to inform you that at this time this agency is unable to grant your request for further funding of your magnetic monopole research due to the unfortunate incidents of your last attempt. We encourage you to seek resources from other agencies—_

Christine interrupted her reading to ask Sheldon to clarify what the letter meant by 'unfortunate incidents'. He didn't expect that he would get more funding. He was always going to have a problem with that now. For the last few years since his friend's betrayed his trust with a canopener he has been denied funding to further his research on ten separate occasions.

He say up on the bed and swiveled his body so his legs hung over the edge, he was starting to feel more altert and agile thanks to Christine's minstrations.

"A few years ago I was awarded a sizeable grant to conduct research for magnetic monopoles in the Arctic in my attempt to prove string theory. I chose Leonard, Howard and Raj as my research team due to our friendship and trust in their ability as scientists. I suppose this was misguided however." He really tried to hide the pain in his voice, but Christine picked up on it. She felt her temper start to rise.

"When we returned from our expedition I was hopeful. My data indicted that we had infact encountered evidence of magnetic monopoles and I was so delighted that I informed several members of the university that I was not far off from once and for all improving string theory. However," he was aware Christine was not liking where this was headed. "when we returned Raj convinced the other two to come clean to the fact that they used an electric canopener to distort our data because I was being insuffereable. They believe, as my mother still does so you must keep this a secret from her, that the largest impact this had on myself and my career was to my ego, being humiliated when I had to retract my statement. Unpleasant as that was, it is hardly where the story ends. I have not shared with them this part "he took her hand, begging her to understand, "it would have affected their careers even greater than my own had I revealed they were behind the incident. But many of the scientific community no longer see me as fit to trust with their research funds after I had to report to the National Science Foundation that my data was inaccurate and therefore amounted to nothing."

She stared at him for a full minute trying to talk herself out of what she was about to do. He tried to protect his friends because in his own way he loved them. But by God, this woman is a momma bear when it comes to protecting who she loves, and that is this man they so carelessly hurt.

That was it.

She jumped up and marched through her apartment not even allowing the furniture in her path deter her from her beeline to the door, she simply stepped over the chair, train case and edge of the sofa as if they weren't there.

Sheldon was set to panic mode. He shot up out of the bed when he recognized the same expression on her face as she had when she dealt with the mugger. He had to stop her.

-T—B—B—T—

"So Christine and Sheldon are playing house, huh?" Howard wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at the rest of his friends all gathered in 4A.

"Yeah, and she went totally crazy last night when I was up there. She kept mumbling something about never forgiving herself if everything didn't fall in line. I think she is really worried about everything." Penny felt bad, she remembered the first time she tried to throw Leonard a party. Imagine having to try to please Sheldon of all people, who didn't even want the darn thing.

"Did you get any of the juicy details out of her bestie?" Amy was loving this new relationship forming. Not only did it mean her friend was happy but it also meant that she didn't have to feel so rejected by Sheldon… she just wasn't the right girl for him. This better work out.

Penny shook her head no but Bernadette and Leonard both replied in unison. "I did."

"Awesome." Raj squeeked out… talking in front of women was a lot easier when Christine was here.

"Yeah," Bernadette started as Leonard got up to refill Penny's coke. "she told me he asked her out on an official date to take place sometime next week, she hopes. And she told me 'everytime he touches me its like a blue fire coursing through my veins', which I assume is a good thing."

"Damn, that's hot." Penny and Amy stated in unison.

"Sheldon say anything more to you Leonard?" Leonard was excited for his friend but wanted to get his own news out. "Pretty much the same. Oh, and that he hoped that we would be each other's best man."

Everyone other than Penny looked confused. "He's already thinking marriage?" Raj asked.

"No. He's thinking ahead to my and Penny's wedding. It was his way of congratulating me once Penny said yes."

"You little wench!" Amy reached over Raj and snagged Penny's left hand. Sure enough the diamond sparkled brilliantly. "You didn't tell me! This is so, so, so great!" She fumbled over Raj's lap to pull Penny into a hug. Everyone else joined in offering congratulations and hugs as well.

"Wow. If everything works out we might all be married couples in the next few years. Raj, maybe we should push our future kids to marry one another so we can be in laws!" Even Howard was letting the romance get to him.

"Dude, I'm letting my kids do whatever they want. I won't be my mother."

"Don't worry Raj," Amy patted his arm. "I will be sure to not be as controlling of any of our potential offspring as she is."

A happy silence fell over the group as they finished their meals. Leonard began to massage Penny's shoulders as she sat in the chair in front of him, closest to the door. He was making advances in his career and he was soon to have a wife. Nothing could stop him now- '_what the hell was that?' _he thought as a searing pain crossed his face and he felt his glasses fly off as he went tumbling to the floor.

Christine had burst in through the door and backhanded Leonard with such force and speed it hit like a flash. No one was left anything less than purely astonished, half the group backed up behind the sofa (the women) while the men cowered in sudden fear for their lives.

She wanted to do it over and over again, to him and to Howard and Raj as well but she did feel Sheldon's hand on her wrist asking her to hold back. They both knew she was stronger, but she adhered to his wishes.

She bent to Leonard, thrust his glasses back on his face and threw him into the sofa while she directed her gaze to Howard and Raj standing between the coffee table and the sofa itself. "SIT DOWN!" she demanded and there was no room for discussion.

"What the hell Christine?" Penny demanded of her friend, even though she too was about to pee her pants.

"I'll tell you what-the-hell. Your man here and these two completely ruined Sheldon's career." She spat out while still retaining full control over herself- which was more terrifying than her just yelling.

"You mean the monopole incident? It hardly ruined him. Made him look like a fool, yeah but he recovered."

"No. He. Didn't." She bit out. "Are you really so idiotic as to not see that he would never be trusted again for YOUR stunt? And I don't care one damn bit about how difficult he was being Howard!" She shut off his protests before they began, he always preferred justification after the fact than thinking before his actions. "He's been denied every major request for funding he has made since then!" she threw the letter at them. "You should be on your knees thanking him for not turning you over to the world for what you really are, untrustworthy cowards! He saved your careers because he cares about you and he knew it would destroy you while his could potentially recover- but its not! Not to where it should be! He is the single most brilliant mind of our time and you treat him like goo on your shoe. You. Each. Disgust. Me."

She stalked closer to them now. Sheldon found himself leaning against the chair closest to him. It was astounding to have someone stand up for him. He never really needed it before, but she was here to the rescue and he never had to ask.

She hovered over them like she could snap at any moment. None of the women behind the sofa were brave enough to face her right now, and none wanted to after hearing just exactly what their men had done. It disgusted each of them nearly as much as it disgusted the firedemon in front of them.

"You. Will. Fix. This." She announced. "I will do my best to pull strings and insulate your careers from the impact this will have because I love each of you just as Sheldon does. But you have until Monday to draft and sign a notarized letter to present to me, Sheldon and then send off to the National Science Foundation apologizing for your role in this. And you will leave _nothing_ out. You will take the full blame, the blame you deserve." She looked each of them in the eyes and enjoyed their fear as she loomed even closer to the edge of their remaining comfort zones. They each shrunk back in response.

"If you don't do _exactly_ as I say and leave Sheldon in the clear- as he deserves to be- I will tear each of your lives apart bit by bit until there is nothing left but your misery." She looked at Leonard. "Eviction." She looked at Howard. "Forclosure." Then to Raj. "Deportation." She stood taller now to sweep all three with a menacing gaze "Are nothing compared to the wrath and am willing and able to unleash on you."

She backed away, having said her peace though still fixing each man with a glare that told them she meant business. And they knew she did. She glanced up at her female friends, sorry for them that they had to contend with this as well through no real fault of their own. But damn it, they needed to get these guys to turn into men.

"And you three. I love you, but get your men in line."

She stormed out of the apartment with Sheldon trailing. He closed the door behind her but she decided to poke her head back in. No one had moved over than to snap their stares to the door to see if she was about to eviscerate them.

In a quite cheery tone she informed them "Mary and Meemaw will be here in time for breakfast, I'm making X-man waffles. Be there at 8!" and gently shut the door behind her.

-T—B—B—T—

Sheldon returned with Christine to her apartment without a word on the way up. He sat in his 0,0,1,0 and tried to collect his thoughts.

"I'm sorry Sheldon. I just couldn't seem to control myself when I learned what they did. I don't regret my threat or my method though I do regret causing physical pain to Leonard."

God, he was going to think she was a monster. But she just couldn't stand to see him hurting as he did when he let the secret he held out.

He took several minutes to think. After a few false starts in his attempt to communicate back to her he finally succeeded. "I think he will forgive you for that, as do I."

She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and sat on the train case directly in front of him. He reached out for her hand and held it in his own.

"I can never thank you enough. You will have restored my career if they adhere to your wishes. I may just get the Nobel after all." He began to choke up. Without his reputation or ability to get funding he would be unable to continue his work soon. And without credibility no one would believe him even if he did prove string theory- he would be accused of falsifying data. Now, he could live without that worry.

"I-" his sneeze ruined the moment he was about to unwittingly let it slip that he loves her. Darn this cold!

"Come on. You need to get back into bed. With enough rest you might actually be well by morning."

She tucked him in and waited twenty minutes to make sure he was in a deep sleep before she changed her clothes and set out the door. She had one more mission tonight.

-T—B—B—T-

"So what name are you going by these days?" he asked.

"You know I can't tell you that. Do you have the drop?" Christine talked into her magazine as she sat on a bench in the train station knowing the man seated directly behind her could hear every word.

"Its where it usually is. Tread carefully my dear Soliloquy, eyes are back on you." She nearly winced again, her whole life he only ever called her that when he was worried. She wished she could tell him she would be ok, but that would not be possible until she was fully out of the game. So, she stuck to her protocol and returned the favor.

"Male, two o'clock. Cigarette, dark jacket." She muttered as she rose from her seat and walked directly to the closest exit without looking back. That guy she spotted for him was a dead man.

-T—B—B—T—

"Where have you been?'" Sheldon asked worriedly. He woke up and she wasn't anywhere to be found. That was two hours ago.

"Your present just came in. I had to pick it up and wrap it in my car." It wasn't a lie.

"Oh." Well now he felt stupid. Just because it was dark was no reason for him to worry, she could obviously take care of herself. "I wish you did not buy me a gift. You are already spending too much on my party… that is more than enough."

"Nonsense. Besides, I didn't spend a dime on anything other than wrapping paper. It was my father's and you will get more enjoyment out of it than I would."

"Alright then." He liked that, his surprise gift to her was partly something Meemaw handed down to him as well.

"Good. Did you want dinner? We missed it earlier."

"Grilled cheese?" Sheldon was starting to feel better already, he was sure he would be healthy by the morning.

Christine laughed at herself. "I suck at making grilled cheese."

"Really? I have seen you make soufflés. How could you possibly not be able to handle such a simple treat?" He moved to the refrigerator and began extracting the ingredients. He would make them himself if she raised no objections to a sick man handling her food. She looked a little run down. Beautiful as always, but could definitely use a good meal.

"I don't know. I never got the hang of it. You don't have to make them honey."

"If you don't mind, I would like to return the favor of this afternoon." He set to work. And they were delicious.

"God! How did you ever improve on the classic grilled cheese?" She almost grunted in satisfaction. He really was a genius in culinary arts as well as everything else.

"I have tried improving several things over the years. Scrambled eggs can't get any better but frying both sides of the bread in butter and garlic powder before adding cheese is certainly an improvement on the sandwich of classic Americana."

Christine agreed and was thankful for both the meal and that he was clearing the plates and doing the dishes. She had been running nonstop for the last several days because of work, the party and—that other work. She almost had a plan that could solve some of her issues- she might be able to lead a more normal life soon if she could just get a few small groups off her back. She might be able to make it out of this without anyone getting seriously hurt.

She dosed off as Sheldon did the dishes and by the time he returned to the sofa she was in deep REM. He looked at her as she sat with her head bent at an awkward angle. She was stunning in any light, even with a tiny bit of drool threatening to seep from her mouth.

Surely she would be in pain if she woke like this in the morning. She had enough to do without being injured in the process. Sheldon braced himself. He had more upper body strength than people gave him credit for and paired with his knowledge of physics, he was able to lift Christine without waking her and carried her to her bed.

It was the first time he had ever been in her bedroom. She had a Queen sized carved oak bed with thick purple, pink and soft white bed linens. Her dressing table was covered in more trinket boxes and she had a vintage black and white framed poster of Harold and Maude on the far wall. On every surface she seemed to have some sort of memento from her travels over the world. Hand weaved baskets, a framed document she translated from Timbuktu that she told him about, elegant fabrics from various villages that she sewed into a patchwork quilt that rested on the chair in the corner- it was just like her personality, eclectic and diverse.

As he laid her down he realized he had to take off her shoes, her blazer as well. He knelt by the bed, noting it was awfully tall for an average woman and unbuckled the straps of her boots. He slid one off, then the other, which had a throwing blade tucked in the lining. Curious.

He sat next to her on the bed and pulled her upper body gently to him so he could ease the blazer off her shoulders. Her camisole underneath should be comfortable enough to sleep in, he thought. And then he noticed a small silvery scar above her right breast, in the same location her heart would be if it was the other side.

His eyes flicked to her face to see if she would wake. She was out like a light. He laid her back down and snapped on the bedside lamp for a better look. It was jagged at the ends and a little fatter in the middle. He leaned in for a closer look… was it a stab wound? It seemed mostly superficial, from what he could tell. Of course the woman that wore the mark could tell him more precisely but as he considered it, it was probably unwise to ask.

He looked down her body one last time before he made his way to his apartment. '_She hides knives, has wounds. She can stand up to danger as if it invigorates her. She'__s like a warrior princess'-_ when he found himself imagining her at Comic-Con in a Xena costume sauntering into their shared hotel bedroom he reddened and reprimanded himself. Just because he could envision his inability to restrain himself from pressing her against the room's door, running his hand between her legs and snapping off her undergarments before me impaled her and she screamed in pleasure- darn it if that image didn't disturb his circadian rhythms for a good portion of the night.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Warning: Food porn. Ratings will start to get a little more M from here on out.

I do not own the Big Bang Theory- though Christine is all me.

* * *

><p>"Shelly my dear boy!" Meemaw crushed Sheldon's head in her embrace as his mother was hugging and thanking Leonard for picking them up at the airport.<p>

"Hello Meemaw. Was your flight enjoyable?" He loved his Meemaw more than- almost more than- anyone in the world. His mother raised him, of course, but Meemaw was always the woman he went to for guidance since he was a young boy. She saw his intelligence before anyone else and she recognized just how important it was to encourage him. It was because of her that his mother was convinced he was ready to go to Germany and to college at eleven years old.

He hates to think what life would have been like without her advocacy, or her cooking.

"Now, don't be disappointed, but I couldn't make you that special cake I always made for your birthday growing up. It wouldn't travel on the plane. But I promise the cookies will make up for it."

Sheldon helped Leonard load their luggage in the trunk and opened the passenger door for Meemaw to ride up front where it would be more comfortable for her. He took the back with his mother.

"Now there Shelly," his mother began. She was awestruck that a woman, a _real_ woman was taking such a liking to her son. "Are you gonna tell me more 'bout this young lady I keep hearing on? Your meemaw seems head over heels for the woman."

Leonard snorted; Christine was certainly someone to fall in love with in any capacity. Even when she hit him last night and made him face what he had done to Sheldon, he couldn't help but feel affection for her as his friend. Fear, yes of course, lots of fear. But he had to thank her as well. Sheldon never really did trust the guys since the Arctic, perhaps now they could all move on. And even when enraged she was kind. She texted Penny detailed instructions on how to care for his bruised cheek after she left. He had only a dull ache and reddening left because of that act of mercy. Leonard told the car as much.

"Now any woman who is willing to face a room full of her friends and give them a piece of her mind is certainly a hero in my book." Meemaw commented in genuine pride.

Fearing that the last statement might have been sarcastic Sheldon tried to defend Christine. "She was only trying to stand up for me. She's strong and loyal to an absolute fault. There is nothing about her personality which leaves room critique, in my opinion."

Leonard and Mary shared a look in the rearview mirror. Shelly was definitely in love.

"I am sure I will love 'er as much as Meemaw does Shelly. And here," she pulled out an index card and handed it to him. "I wrote it down for Meemaw 'cause her arthritis is actin' ag'in. You excited for your party tonight?"

Sheldon considered, "I believe I am. As much as I detested birthday parties as a child, as you well know, and still very much detest social gatherings in general, I find I am looking forward to what Christine has in store for tonight. She informed me that it will be 'off the hook' and 'nerdilicious' simultaneously. This confuses me greatly but it is the effort of the gesture which is supposed to matter most in these situations. So, I believe I will be happy regardless of the success of the night. Just so long as she doesn't have to follow through on her threat."

Leonard explained the cone-hat warning which left the two women in rolling laughter as they pulled up to their building.

-T—B—B—T—

_Knock. Knock. Knock._ "Christine." Meemaw and Mary rolled their eyes.

_Knock. Knock. Knock._ "Christine." Leonard told the women Christine actually finds this adorable.

_Knock. Knock. Knock._ "Christine." Christine shook her head in a smile.

"It's open Sheldon!" She called for them to enter. She was elbow deep in kitchen prep and began to towel off the flour on her forearms as she made her way to the door to welcome her guests. "I'm so glad you're here!" she called to Meemaw and Mary as she hugged them each. "You must be so tired from the early flight. Would you like to rest a bit before breakfast?"

"That would be lovely dear." Meemaw answered. Mary seemed to be frozen in her own little world as she kept looking between her son and the woman. She really was as beautiful as her photos. Part of her kept thinking she might be sending something doctored up, but it was really her. And she's as smart as her baby? Incredible.

Christine led the way to the guest bedroom. She helped Meemaw carry her bags while Sheldon grabbed his mother's. He insisted they unpack right away and make use of the two dressers in the room. Mary rolled her eyes to Christine, who returned the gesture but kept making with the hangers for their other clothes. They would stay for four nights with her, so she was glad everything seemed to be running smoothly thus far.

"Alright Sheldon, let's let them rest for a bit. I TIVO'd this morning's Doctor Who episodes for you. You can watch while I finish up everything for breakfast."

Christine was finally starting to relax a bit. She didn't quite know why she had been so nervous about this party. She was a professional at planning after all—sure it usually wasn't for parties but the surprises she had in store for him were certainly something similar to what she was used to.

She began the finishing touches on her first meal for the day. The waffle batter was ready to go. She made an organized display of her homemade strawberry, blueberry, pecan and maple syrups. She pulled out her stand mixer and began whipping up some vanilla cream and pulled out one of the six packs of Flash napkins, saving the rest for tonight.

''Do you need any help honey?" Christine hadn't even noticed Sheldon looming over her shoulder… she hoped it was that she trusted him that she wasn't tracking his every move and not a symptom of losing her edge.

"No sweetie, today is all about pampering you. But I could use your opinion on this." She scraped a dollop the whipped cream off her spoon and onto her finger and offered it to him to try. He stared at her offering for a moment. He didn't like people touching his food but then again, considering where he imagined putting his mouth last night—well her finger was certainly more hygienic, and much more innocent. He took the whole thing into his mouth and was surprised when he heard her slight moan.

She couldn't believe she let the sound escape her but it was too late, it was out there now. She had expected him to go grab a spoon and refuse her finger but hot damn did it do things to her deep down when she felt the moisture of his lips wrap around her knuckle and his tongue curled around her to draw the sweet cream to his taste buds. She just kept wondering what other talents that tongue had in store for her.

Sheldon's nostrils flared as he looked down to her and realized he subconsciously moved well within her personal space. Only less than an inch of air separated them and he wanted to close that divide. As she reclaimed her finger and brought her hands down to her sides he could see her fists clenching- a gesture he tended to make when he was trying to force himself to overcome his base nature. Oh. Was that what she was doing? Just the idea of her wanting him like that, at this moment began to trigger all sorts of responses in his body.

He didn't know what to do, he never had this impulse when in such close proximity to a woman he liked, especially not one whose pupils where dilated- indicating that she was mutually aroused. So, he took her example. He reached over her to the counter behind, thus closing the space between them and feeling her breast press against his lower chest. He grunted almost inaudibly at the sensation. He dug into the ridge of the bowl and laced his own index finger with the sweet substance and offered it to her in turn. "You must try it yourself." His voice was uncharacteristically deep and waspy. "It is purely intoxicating."

He assumed her sharp inhalation that followed was in an attempt at controlling herself but he was nearly beyond that point. He traced her lips in a feather light touch, leaving a small residue behind, as he tried to coax them open so he could slide his appendage between the soft folds. Then he felt the sudden moisture, the gentle and yet firm stroking and milking of him. He gasped at all the sensations running through his body, connecting meridian to meridian of energy and pleasure. When she made the move to run her hand gently up the back of his thigh he jerked into her and moaned aloud. He was no longer in control of himself as he readied himself for taking all the mor—_creaaak._

Gah! They froze and then snapped to as Christine turned back round to the island counter and tried to pretend to be studiously chopping the fruit for the salad. When Meemaw and Mary moved to the living room and their friends came through the door, she was sure to stand in front of Sheldon to block anyone's view of the physical evidence of his arousal… a large tenting effect in his chinos… very, very large indeed… Oh God she needed to focus on the food!

-T—B—B—T—

After breakfast, which was both delicious and pleasant as Mary and Meemaw shared stories of Sheldon's childhood with Christine, Penny and Bernadette offered to do the cleanup to allow Christine time to finish off the remaining plans of the day.

Down in Penny's apartment, Christine, Mary and Meemaw set to work on baking Sheldon's special cake. It was Sheldon's favorite- double chocolate with a layer of fudge in the middle. Christine made the ganache for the frosting while Mary chopped the pecans for the topping and Meemaw pulled the cakes from the oven.

"My my, hun. I am impressed with all this plann'n you put in for today. Sheldon hasn't had this cake in ten years. I am sure he will love it." Mary truly was impressed as Christine filled them in on the more sensitive parts of her plans for the night- totally top secret!

"Do you think he will like it? I mean, I know how he is about parties." Christine was starting to doubt whether forcing him to have a party for his big 3-0 was a good idea.

"Oh he just pretends he doesn't like the attention. We all know he loves it. Besides, what _you_ have planned beats out any party either of us ever threw for him." Mary tried to reassure her. She was taking a real shine to the girl. '_Could she be the next woman to marry into the Cooper surname? Oh good Lord Jesus, please say it is so.'_

Christine stopped in her tracks shaving more chocolate. "Too much? I honestly never know when I am going over the top with these things." Sharing the kitchen with the two Cooper women got Christine thinking. Mary reminded her so much of her own mother, she was comfortable bearing some of her soul to her.

"Not at all, this is _Shelly_! For goodness sake, the boy defines over the top. And anyhow, it's not every day you turn 30. And everyone is excited—even me! And I never got into any of that before."

Christine was relieved, it would be awful to go overboard and his mother not like it, what if she someday became her mother in law? She wanted a good relationship with her, not fraught with conflict like she observed in others. She wanted what Mary seemed to enjoy with Meemaw- a second mother type of relationship.

She was happier right now than ever. Finally, she was starting to have _normal problems._ She hoped it stayed that way.

They finished their work and made their way over to Leonard and Sheldon's place to decorate.

"Ready to deceive your son?"

"Absolutely."

-T—B—B—T—

Sheldon tried not to peak into the living room as Christine and his mother set up but he was far too excited. He never liked parties as a kid but Christine always had ways of surprising him. Each time he tried to creep down the hallway, totally silent mind you, she sternly told him she could knew he was there and that he better march back to his room—she never even looked back! It was just like his mother, she had eyes in the back of her head.

So, all he was able to glimpse thus far were the Flash napkins and red and silver streamers around the room. He could smell the vanilla of the cake Christine made him; it was disappointing that it wasn't his favorite super-chocolate cake, but the thought of her putting in so much effort was terribly gratifying.

_Knock. Knock. Knock._ [S.]

_Knock. Knock. Knock._ [O.]

_Knock. Knock. Knock._ [S.]

He opened his bedroom door for her. "Hello."

"Hey sweetie. I'm sorry but I gotta leave real quick to get something last minute. I am bringing Meemaw and your mom with me but Leonard is around if you need anything. I think everyone else is at their places getting ready- I will try to rush back as soon as I can!" She assured him with a kiss on the cheek and vanished from his sight without notice.

He waited until he heard the front door close to poke his head into the hall. Leonard's room was silent. Good.

He snuck down the hall and into the living room. It was spectacular! She had cutouts of all his favorite comic book characters scattered to look like they were mingling when the crowd got there later. Snacks were set in bowls around the room, with scoops and cups and plates so no one would be eating communally and sharing their germs.

She had neatly set up cups, spoons, forks and knives on the table next to the napkins and bottles of soda and ice bucket. And a large buffet style table was set with chafing dishes ready to accept the food to be put out. And he was happy to note that while she did have the terrible cone-hats, she tucked them out of the way and behind a large stack of plates.

He returned to his bedroom quite pleased. Maybe tonight wouldn't be so bad after all.

-T—B—B—T—

"Sheldon!" Leonard was pounding on the bedroom door.

"What could be so important as to interrupt my annual birthday nap?" Sheldon tried to rub the grogginess out of his eyes.

"Christine's car broke down and she and Meemaw and your mother had to walk to the nearest house and use the owner's phone to call. We gotta go get them."

"Why must I go, surely you can handle a simple task such as this yourself?" He was still quite tired.

"The guy who owns the house is a massive and rich nerd- I thought you might not be happy with Christine spending so much time with him- she said he was charming." Crap, Leonard didn't want to have to use that, but he had to get Sheldon out of here somehow. And Sheldon was nothing if not jealous.

"What?" Sheldon's attention snapped to.

"Come on. Get dressed. Even Meemaw seemed pleased with the guy." Leonard felt so guilty watching his friend frantically pull on some jeans. Poor guy is probably about to have a panic attack.

Sheldon was a bundle of nerves the whole ride there. She was being charmed by another nerdy man? She once said nerds were her weakness. But was this really so big of a threat when Christine obviously had feelings for him? She was so loyal; he didn't read her wrong did he? And it was his birthday! And Meemaw was there! She knew how he felt about her!But even Meemaw said she liked him!

Then they pulled up to the house where Christine and Meemaw were waiting. He got why Leonard seemed so concerned. First, there was a security gate they had to get through before they could even get a view of the house. Apparently money does have a certain attraction when interviewing potential they came across the house itself. There were many cars out front of all kinds of makes and models that could barely make out due to some of the landscaping and dusk setting in. He clenched his fists as they made their way to the front door. They rang the bell and a butler answered! An honest to God butler!

As they followed him through the foyer and past the gallery Sheldon began to have several conflicting thoughts. He hadn't been nearly so scared before- he understood why Leonard implied as this man as being a threat. The property owner was obviously a massive nerd as well, judging by the startrek artwork lining the walls. Could he have met his match? He entered a dimly lit room. Should he prepare for a duel?

"SURPRISE!" The forty voices in the room soared in unison. Sheldon was totally taken aback and nearly knocked into Leonard in his shock.

"Haha, calm down buddy. Look around!" Leonard pat his friend on the back watching Sheldon as he took in his surroundings.

"Christine?" Sheldon asked timidly. She sauntered up to him with that same mischievous smile he first fell for. "You did this for me?"

She kissed his cheek. "Of course silly. Happy birthday!"

He looked around. It was ten forward. TEN FORWARD from the ENTERPRISE.

"It's an exact replica using some of the original sets." A tall man dressed as a Lieutenant commander informed him. "The bar is the same one that Guinan used to use." he stuck his hand out. "Welcome to my home Sheldon. I must say this one over here" he gestured to Christine "can talk her way into anything… I never met her until a month ago and she managed after just a half hour of conversation to convince me that as such a huge fan you needed your party here."

Amazing. He looked around. All his friends were dressed in Starfleet uniforms. Some were Vulcans; Raj seemed to be playing lieutenant Warf. His Meemaw had donned a hat all too similar to Guinan and seemed to be enjoying her place behind the bar as she talked to Stuart and Amy. Even his mother dressed up as Roxanna Troy, which was wonderful considering Christine was obviously Diana.

"Here." She handed him a garment bag. "You're an admiral for the night."

He took the bag and allowed the host to lead him to a changing room. When he returned in his perfect admiral's uniform Christine took his arm and readied him to mingle.

"I can't believe you kept this a secret from me. You lied about the party being in my apartment."

"If there is one thing I am good at its secrets and lies. Are you happy with it?"

"I admit I was quite angered at the idea you might be canoodling with another man on my birthday but as it was a ruse- and cleaver at that- I must say I am beyond happy with the course of the night."

She was so relieved and excited that he seemed enchanted with everything around him. He even whistled along with the jazz band she hired… it wouldn't be a party in ten forward without a few solo's from the sax.

They walked together as Christine greeted several of the guests she invited from the university. Most were total strangers to Sheldon other than having spoken at the banquet but Christine informed Sheldon that she only invited those who seemed to actually like him and it would be good to recognize that even acquaintances have their place at a party.

Once they made a full turn about the room Christine thanked everyone for coming in a welcoming yet booming voice. "Thank you all for helping me pull this one over on Sheldon. We are both so happy you could all make it today. Please" she gestured to the buffet set along the bar "help yourself dinner. It has Sheldon's favorite selections. But save room for dessert!" She warned them all infectiously.

"Sheldon, come here." Christine whispered. "I got your favorite just for you." She snuck behind the bar to pull out a perfectly heated bowl of Kandai Paneer. "I know you hardly ever get to eat it."

He stared at it, then back up at her. "You couldn't make this night better if you tried."

She laughed, if he only knew. "We'll see about that."

They ate their dinner interspersed with random bouts of dancing to some of the beats from the jazz band. Everyone in the room was aware of it, these two were made for one another- like two super heroes created by the Gods.

"Ready for cake?" She asked. She had made a dummy in his apartment earlier in the day that was vanilla just to throw him off.

"Yes please." He pat his tummy in anticipation as the lights dimmed.

Mrs. Cooper carried out the cake on a large silver tray as everyone sang to him and laid it before him to blow out the candles.

It was Meemaw's cake! How did she get it for him? He looked between the three women closest in his life. His mother and Meemaw were each holding one of christine's hands as she instructed him to blow out the candles. '_She may be my advocate against the women in my life but she's also a coconspirator.' _What a wonderful fate.

He licked the very cutting knife clean once the cake was gone. No one could get enough of it – well Howard had to eat cheese cake instead. It was by far the best version of it he ever had and whether that was due to some formula changes or that it was made with love, as they say, he couldn't tell you.

The party began to die down about half an hour later as everyone slowly made their way to the doors. Sheldon had learned that his uniform was borrowed from the property owner's private collection and made to change out of it but the man told him to keep it. It was his present to him.

Back at Sheldon and Leonard's apartment everyone gathered in the livingroom to give Sheldon his gift. Meemaw and Mary gave him new ties and matching blazers. Penny and Leonard got him a lifetime subscription to Physics Quarterly. Howard, Bernadette, Amy and Raj decided on a model train set to expand his collection.

Everyone decided Christine should go last. Mary and Meemaw where the only people who knew what she had in store, though they didn't quite understand it. It was her turn now, but Sheldon stopped her.

"First, let me just say that I agreed to this party under the pretense that it would serve as a belated birthday present to you. Of course that is absurd as it was all for me. So I got you something. The outside I bought but inside was something I got from Meemaw."

He handed her the present and Christine couldn't hide from anyone how delighted she was that he thought of her. She didn't care whether or not he ever gave her a present but the fact that he did, well it was amazing to her. She never had anyone to give her things like this before.

She opened the wrapped box slowly and lifted the lid. Her eyes began to tear already. It was about four inches across and fit in her hand. A silver trincket box with her birthstone in layed in the middle. "Opal is your birthstone, of course. But I decided on the green variety because the flecks of green brown and blue remind me of your eyes. It took the whole geology department to find the right stone." She chuckled, he _would_ use university resources to get her gift just right. "Open it, the real gift is inside."

She did, and read over the index card within. Everyone watched on in confusion as she looked back up to Sheldon for an explanation. "I know it will never be your own grandmother's pork pie recipe, but hopefully Meemaw's is close enough."

She launched at him in the most strangling hug he ever received. She nearly chocked the life out of him as she wiped her tears on the shoulder of his shirt. Thank God he changed our of the uniform in the car.

She got control of herself again and sat back on the coffee table across from him. She still had his gift to give.

"Ok. Your turn. Like I said, it was my father's. Of course I love it but I can't think of anyone who would get more enjoyment from it than you."

What could it possibly be? He asked himself what he didn't have. He already had just about every collectable box set he could ever appreciate. He had an original Death Star for goodness sake, and lets not forget about the napkin with Leonard Nemoy's—'_Oh my God its Detective Comics #27." _

"Holy fuck monkeys." Howard muttered. "Is that, is that what I think it is?"

"Batman's first appearance?" All the guys were now crowded around the gift Sheldon held in his catatonic state.

"Oh dear God." Leonard started hyperventilating and grabbing for his inhaler. "Do you have any idea how much that is worth?" he asked Christine. Afterall- it's a fortune!

"Of course I do. If you haven't noticed I'm not exactly hurting for cash. But anyhow, like I said it was my father's. It didn't cost me a dime."

Next thing anyone knew she was pulled onto Sheldon's lap as he smothered her in kisses from her shoulders , up her kneck and over every fleck of skin of her face other than her lips—they were waiting for the first date for that. "How can I ever," he squeezed her until she couldn't breathe "ever compare to this?"

She smiled to herself and looked back at him. "You already have."


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Getting down to business now... don't worry, theres still lots of fluff to come. This chapter is a little M, expect violence and/or smut from now on.

I do not own the Big Bang Theory but Christine is totally my dream's invention.

* * *

><p>"So how long do you think Sheldon is going to keep the comic handcuffed to his wrist?" Howard asked Leonard as they sat down in their usual spots in the Cal Tech cafeteria.<p>

"I'll have you know," Sheldon interjected as he sat as well, slamming the hard sided silver case attached to his wrist on the table. "That Christine has arranged for a safety deposit box in which we will leave it this afternoon after we bring my mother and Meemaw to the airport."

"Oh, leaving so soon?" Raj teased. He knew four days had been a lot for Sheldon.

"I love Meemaw, but she is really cramping my style, so to speak."

And indeed the last few days since Sheldon's party had been a torturous taunt of the woman he yearned for flaunting her assets in front of him, he having no recourse with his relatives in the couldn't take her on their date until tomorrow night and each passing day felt like a year to him. He was waiting, waiting until the moment he could finally make contact with those soft and supple lips.

But not all of it was bad. On the contrary, he rather enjoyed their games with one another, and having his female relatives in town proved rather useful as he continued planning his perfect date with Christine. His mother had a way of getting information out of Christine, like the fact that she hasn't been on safari since she was little, it was her favorite activity with her father. He knew how to remedy that. And Meemaw told him that Christine always seemed very happy whenever he held her hand, so he was given a direct order to engage in public displays of affection with her on the date... that was certainly no challenge. He was so looking forward to it, he started zoning out, forgetting his friends were still talking.

"I still can't believe she gave you that. But Dr. Gablehauser told me that she's loaded, she's working for the university for free, just for something to do." Howard informed them.

"Man. How come Sheldon gets Ms. Perfect?" Raj and Amy were having problems, apparently dating a man that would actually touch people scared the crap out of her.

"She's fantastic but hardly perfect. She scares you all to death, drives me crazy sometimes, drools in her sleep and has the temper of a madwoman but anyhow, I can't claim to know her financial situation. However I am struck with how valuable a gift she has given me. Perhaps on our date tomorrow I should give her my signed photo of Patrick Stewart dressed as Jean-Luc Picard. He is her favorite character of any fictional universe."

"I think that's a nice gesture Sheldon." Leonard was proud of his friend. He was still the same obnoxious man who needed someone to rub vaporub on his chest, sing soft kitty, adhere to his routine and drive him to work. But now Christine took over most of those duties. Most days of the week she would drive him in, even if she had no classes to teach that day.

But Sheldon had grown a lot as well. He began taking time off work, a few hours here or there, to spend time with her, watch a movie or have a large breakfast. Today he was leaving work early for the airport drop off and informed his friends he was unsure as to whether he would be making it to the comic book store that night.

Right after lunch Leonard walked Sheldon out to the parking lot to wait for Christine to pick him up and give his last goodbye to Sheldon's relatives. Meemaw became a particular favorite person of his during their visit. Who can't love a woman who makes sugar cookies like she invented them?

As he watched Sheldon take off with the three women in his life, he began to wonder if Sheldon would be his roommate much longer.

-T—B—B—T—

It had been three hours now. After Christine and Sheldon had left the bank her happy and affectionate mood had drastically switched to one of near paranoia- if Sheldon read her right. Perhaps he was simply mistaken; human interactions still retained a great deal of mystery for him.

But then why did she drive him directly to the comic book store and leave him there for Leonard to bring home? She had just been saying how she was terribly anxious for their date and then boom, she's pushing him out the car door! He thought for sure they were going to go back to his apartment and watch Firefly. He had even created a five point plan to introduce cuddling into their relationship. That was all ruined now as he played Halo with his friends, continuously getting KOd because he was so distracted worrying about her.

Where could she be? It was not like her to run off. Did he offend her somehow? Did she need time alone after the several days of being surrounded by himself and his family?

"Sheldon." She marched in looking like a Matrix goddess. Long black trench coat, her boots she always hides a blade in, a leather bag hanging from one arm. Oh how he wanted her as she breathed laboriously and small beads of sweat began to highlight the rosy blush on her face. "I need you." Her voice was breathy, moaning and pleading. "Right. Now."

He was on his feet and halfway to the door before he realized he made the decision to do whatever she wanted tonight. He was entirely in her hands, those soft talented hands.

"Wfffheuuww." He heard Howard's suggestive whistle as he closed the door. He nearly paused at the offense before he looked at the woman currently pulling him by his wrist.

Damn the no whistling rule, he had no time for his penal system right now.

[Bazinga. Puns are fun.]

-T-B—B—T—

When she placed her hand in the center of his chest and gently pushed him to the middle of her sofa he flashed back to the last time she made him sit there.

_Meemaw seemed to have preferred his 0,0,1,0 to any other spot in Christine's apartment. He began a small panic as he knew he would never dare ask his elder to move even if he had no other seat of comfort in the room. _

_Christine watched Sheldon begin to pace about the room, trying to map his areas of comfort, obviously taking into account that Christine had claimed the middle as her own. _

"_Sheldon, could you help me in the kitchen?" _

_He nodded and walked over to her. "What would you like me to do? I could chop that pepper if you like." He was relieved to delay his little dilemma for any amount of time. Christine handed him the pepper. _

"_Are you alright there sweetie?" _

"_You know how I feel about my spot." _

"_Sit in mine." She offered. This didn't have to be complicated, but of course, this was Sheldon._

"_But it's your spot. Not mine. Where would you sit? It's going to throw everything off. I am used to you on my right side where I could easily wrap my arm around you or pass you the low sodium soy sauce." _

_Christine took real pleasure in that. He was the most patient man she ever met when it came to the physical side of things but of course all the waiting was even starting to get to him. He hadn't attempted to wrap an arm around her since he rescued her from the elevator shaft, but he spent time thinking about it, apparently._

_She stared straight ahead, stirring the bowl in front of her as she stood beside him and let her left hand drop to her side before slowly letting it rise across his perfect little ass. She had to use all the focus she could muster to keep a straight face as she felt him stiffen against her. He was such putty in her hands._

_Apparently she was putty in his as well. He ever so slowly allowed his right hand wander from supervising the food on the stove and trail up her inner thigh, so lightly and so teasingly close to her special spot. Oh God she was melting and it had nothing to do with the heat in the kitchen. _

_She couldn't let him have the upper hand this round. She lazily let her hand trail down the small scoop of his bottom and lace itself between the warm flesh of his upper thighs, her finger tips beginning to peak out towards the front. Sheldon had to lean both hands against the counter firmly to keep from buckling over. Never, never did he expect he could be so aroused and out of his control he held for so many years and it all happen with his mother and Meemaw just a few feet away. Oh lord she was trying to give him a fatal arrhythmia. _

"_Christine hunny!" Mrs. Cooper called to her. "Do you have any more of that wonderful tea you've been on about?"_

"_Coming right up Mrs. Cooper!" She looked to Sheldon, still in his pleasured daze. He was hardly holding it together so she left go to make the tea. _

_He helped her carry the plates and drinks to the living room before both having to return for the condiments, she took her opportunity to strike while he bent over in the refrigerator. _

"_Just so you know Sheldon," she pressed herself against his back so he could feel her bust as she whispered behind his ear. "Next time I get anywhere near that region of your body I won't be stopped." She could hear him gulp. With satisfaction she pulled away and suggested out loud. "I'll take the arm chair; sit between your mom and meemaw Sheldon."_

_He was too dazed to argue._

The flashback was not helping Sheldon retain control of the situation. He was already feeling the stirs of arousal as Christine began to lower herself to the train case in front of him. Panic was starting to set in. She had been teasing him all week so far but they were still keeping to their pact and going to have their first goodnight kiss on their date tomorrow. Why is it that the small action of meeting lips to lips was beginning to seem like the most important quest in his world? Shouldn't all their little erotic to and fro's be more of the focus here? Especially incidents like when she suggested they add a roller blading component to kite fighting when everyone decided to spend Monday pre-evening with a picnic in the park?

_Sheldon began to put up a real fight at the onslaught against his schedule. Usually Christine was respectful of his routines and was more than happy to cook his Thai every Monday night. But she became insistent that Meemaw and Mary needed to enjoy some of the California sun and weather before they left in a couple days. _

"_Fine! I will go but I won't be eating anything. I rather starve than put off the schedule of my bowel movements." Sheldon stomped in protest._

"_Listen mister. I spent all day preparing a picnic which you wouldn't put up a fuss over. Do you have any idea how hard it is to talk Domino's into letting you buy one of their heated delivery bags just so I could keep your chicken warm? I had to flash the owner!"_

"_You what! I haven't even seen them and you are running around prostituting yourself for __warm chicken?__" He was all anger now, but she suspected it was not at her, but rather the owner of that Domino's franchise down the street._

"_He only saw my bra. Apparently that was spectacular enough." _

_Sheldon paused for a moment letting his eyes run over the contours of her perky and well-rounded chest. Yes, he could see how that could be enough._

"_Are you coming or what?"_

"_Yes, I suppose."_

"_Good." Part one of the argument down, part two to go. "And you'll need to wear these." She handed him a helmet, knee pads and shin guards._

"_Whatever for? Kite fighting is hardly a contact sport."_

"_True. But we took a vote and my suggestion won. We added roller blading to the game." _

"_No!" he was terrible at roller blading, he would probably cling to whoever was around him just to try to stay erect.—he really needed to stop mentally using that word when around Christine._

"_Yes!" she challenged back. This ought to be fun._

_Everyone decided to wait downstairs by the cars so as to not have to witness anymore of the World War III argument erupting in the apartment. It amused them all, and terrified them as well. These two could be explosive when they argued. If Sheldon was stubborn, Christine was equally so. _

"_I'm not doing it." He took a defiant step closer to her. She mimicked the action. _

"_You will do it." But he was just a tad more stubborn and forceful than she in the matter." H__e backed her to the wall and tried to ignore his body's response to the contact. "You're the one that wants this. Why are you challenging me so?"_

_Christine forgot they were arguing as she felt the pressure of him firmly building against her stomach as her back hit the wall. She could get out of this, for sure, if she wanted, but damn it she couldn't even remember if she cared._

_The light bulb finally clicked for Sheldon when Christine involuntarily closed her eyes in delight. He had been stalking her like prey in his anger and he liked it, and so did she. She liked the alpha in him, the male force in which he could exude his influence. She was the prize female of their group, the alpha in her own right and she was his for the hunting and the taking. _

_He pulled her leg above his hip and pulled her pelvis up to match his so her feet dangled inches above the floor. The shock on her face made the pain of her nails digging into his back all the more rewarding. She wrapped herself around him, pulling him closer to her. She was entirely at his mercy and for once that was not a scary prospect. It only served to heighten the sensitivity of every nerve of her body and want to say 'hell with it! Claim me!' to her blue eyed captor._

_He whispered into her hair, taking in her natural scent of lemon and vanilla. "You like this?" he asked as he ever so slightly ground himself into her. It was a micro-movement but it had the desired effect as it elicited a breathless moan and nod to the affirmative. "Will you behave and stop pestering me about this?" Again, another breathless nod._

"_Good." He let her down and straightened himself out. "I'll be waiting for you down in the car."_

_She had no idea how the tables of seduction turned. When the hell did Sheldon learn how to do that?_

He was really beginning to feel the effects of these memories as he had to wipe the sweat of his brow with the back of his hand. It was only getting worse as he found himself visibly mesmerized as Christine began to unbutton her blouse. Her movements were slow but with purpose. Each button revealed more flesh, more of that sweet pink skin he hoped to see but hadn't dared think it would happen for several long—is that blood?

Christine noted the moment Sheldon realized she didn't bring him up here to seduce him. He saw the blood, and there was a lot more where that came from.

"What happened? Are you alright? Do you need a hospital?" Sheldon rushed the words out as he reached to her and tore the rest of the shirt open. Her stomach was covered in blood but no wounds were visible, instead it looked like smears.

"My back Sheldon." She swiveled herself so he could see the small bits of shrapnel that had cut right through the fabric. There had to be thirty little marks all over her. No wonder she was flushed, sweaty and seemingly out of control… she was suppressing a great deal of pain.

She hoped he wouldn't panic as she slipped her blouse off. "Sweetie, I need you to get these out of me. I'll guide you." She looked back and he shook his head no as he continued to stare at her back. "You have to. I can't go to the hospital… they would ask too many questions."

He was still. Entirely still. He couldn't do this! He had no training. She was the trauma surgeon, she should do it. But she can't, it's her back, she can't get to them and she shouldn't have to. He should take care of her the way she takes care of him. He swallowed a nervous gulp.

"Ok. What do I do?"

Christine's relief was audible. She handed him a suture kit and tweezers and instructed him on how to clear the scrap metal from her skin and decide if the wound would need sutures. Thank God she fell in love with a genius who could master almost anything immediately.

His hands were shaking at first but he finally got a rhythm. After the first ten shards of metal were removed and only two needed a suture or two, Sheldon let himself ask what he desperately needed to know.

He broke their silence. "What happened?"

This moment was going to come sooner or later. She had to try to trust him. She could lie, should lie, probably. But she wouldn't betray his trust in her that way. This was too big. This would monumentally change his view of her, but hopefully not his opinion.

"I keep knives in my boots and an armory of weapons built into a compartment under my bed. I have twenty seven passports just for myself. I can kill a man with a simple weapon in little time… you have seen this with the mugger. I eat three cups of yogurt a day to keep my strength. I have nearly unlimited financial resources, no family and constantly disappear to God knows where." She breathed, she never uttered the words to anyone before, they would sound so stupid and so unbelievable coming from her lips. "My real first name is Christine but she is also an alias I had to adopt from as young as four years old, when I met Dr. Gablehauser and my intelligence was revealed."

She could tell he was listening. He made no sound, comment or gesture but she knew she had his full attention. "The man this identity called her father was really her armed guard and educator, hired by my real father to protect me. My mother had posed as my governess and my brother her son, until I was eleven years old."

She felt the last of the shrapnel leave her skin with a delicate ache as Sheldon placed a small bandage over the wound. She turned back to face him. "My father thought it would be safe now, safe to let my mother drop the pretense so long as she still retained a different name from his own. Nowhere in the world could she have an official relationship with him or with me. It would mean she would be a target for leverage against him. Both her and my brother were liabilities for both of us."

She held a deep breath experimentally. She must have bruised a rib in the blast; at least it probably was not broken. "I on the other hand was an entirely different type of liability. My intelligence was the problem. If a foreign operative got his hands on me they would never let me go, leverage or not. I would be too valuable to force to their will, too able to become the perfect agent to use against my father and against my country. He had taken to utilizing me in missions as part of his cover before he realized how advanced I was, that I already had picked up on so many secrets I was a threat to several regimes. I had to be trained my whole life to be what I am and avoid capture or death, and I only accepted it when my mother and brother died in my trauma ward, warning me it was time."

This was harder than she thought. Honesty was not something she had much experience with in her life. "I am only telling you this because I absolutely trust you. Most people in my situation never tell a soul of their place. I haven't until right now. Once my mother died, the secret was never spoken again."

She took his hand pleadingly. "You have to understand that my life is in danger. I would have broken this to you differently otherwise."

Sheldon absorbed this. Her mother died in her care, her brother as well. She was telling him she was brought up like this, trained to be the vital soul she was. She was trained to be protective, programed to be the warrior princess that he so loved. She had a great trust in him to say all this, that he would keep her safe and accept her true identity. He could accept this, but he had to know for sure.

"I understand what you are saying to me. You don't have to worry; I will keep your secret. I care too greatly to endanger you." She closed her eyes in relief. He was taking this so well.

"But there is something I have to know. You have to say the word."

"What word?" She couldn't do this. _That _would be too open, she never said the word aloud even in casual conversation or discussion of an action movie.

"You have to tell me your primary occupation, Christine." His voice was firm. He had to hear it aloud to escape from the fear he was assuming all the wrong things.

"I can't."

"You have to."

"I can't! I just can't!"

"Say the word Chrissy. Or I will never believe you."

"Chrissy?" he never called her that before.

"Say it!"

She resigned, he deserved this peace of mind, this assured knowledge that he was not in fact going off his rocker.

"Say it!"

- "Spy."


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: How does a cooky physicist impress his dream girl? Oh, only a crazy perfect date will do. Enjoy your rewards loyal readers, things are about to get real cute, real fast.

I do not own the Big Bang Theory.

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><p>"Are you sure this isn't a little over the top Sheldon? I mean its only your first date." Leonard asked his roommate after he heard Sheldon's plan for the all-day first date that morning. It had been top secret until now, though of course not the kind of top secret Christine usually dealt with. It was going to take time to get used to that.<p>

"It's a little late now to change any of it Leonard. Besides, in case you haven't noticed, Christine and I tend to be over the top kind of people." This was very true, need I remind you of Ten Forward?

Sheldon had been delighted when Christine agreed earlier in the week that since they already knew they could spend lots of time together, happy in their mutual company, that making a day of it would be just fine. This was great news, as his idea of the perfect date for Christine had a considerable amount of travel time involved.

"Well, I am sure she will like it." Penny chimed in. Ever since she accepted Leonard's proposal she might as well have lived in the apartment.

"Thank you, Penny. And thank you for driving us this morning."

"Wouldn't be the first time I chauffeured one of your dates."

She grabbed the keys and decided to wait downstairs for the happy couple. She knew for sure that Christine was definitely going to love her day.

-T—B—B—T—

He was glad he had decided on this plan for their date. After the events of last night, Christine's big revelation, her pain and all, she needed a good day. He was even more thankful she had agreed at the beginning of the week that getting out of the city for a while would be a good idea. Now he understood that may not have been just a passing statement.

The only downside he could see to the day was that they had to wake early, before sunrise early. Generally Christine slept odd hours, usually falling asleep closer to dawn unless she had a class or something to do the next day. So, he made sure to have a large thermos of coffee ready for her when he knocked on her door.

_Knock. Knock. Knock._ "Christine." He was getting nervous.

_Knock. Knock. Knock._ "Christine." Why was he getting nervous?

_Knock. Knock. Knock._ "Christine." This is absurd, he sees her every day yet it feels like a small monkey is strangling his chest.

"Hey sweetie!" It was so early in the morning; she couldn't believe she agreed to be out all day for their date. Aren't most dates a few hours, at night?

Oh who was she kidding? She was looking forward to whatever the crazy mind of her Dr. Cooper could come up with as his version of the 'perfect date'.

"I brought you coffee. Black, just like you like it." Well, that's a point in his favor. She took the coffee and smiled at him when she sipped it. It was her preferred brand, she could tell.

"So are you going to tell me where we are going yet?" she asked as she linked her arm in his and they descended the stairs.

"Of course not. But I am happy to see you adhered to the dress code per the pre-date memo I sent you." Christine loved that about him, he was so utterly practical. But in his own way, Sheldon was a romantic. He wanted to be sure she was prepared so that everything he had planned would go well. She couldn't imagine why she needed to wear 'normal, everyday clothes and tennis shoes' and have a change of a 'what is referred to as a little black dress' packed to take with her. Whatever, as Penny called him, Sheldon can be a whack-a-doodle.

She wasn't terribly surprised that Penny was driving them this morning, though she was surprised the blonde agreed to do anything so early. She just hoped that the poor girl wouldn't be stuck with driving duties all day. She said as much to Penny in an apology as Sheldon opened the door for her as any gentleman should. At the look Sheldon sent her way Penny gave a non-committal "no problem" instead of revealing how little of the date she would see.

The drive was quiet, but long. The two had a low conversation, discussing how happy they each where that the waiting was finally over. But that was easier for Sheldon than Christine. He at least knew what was in store.

"Sheldon! Where are we going?" She was about to burst. She was not used to being out of the loop. What could he possibly have planned for a whole day?

"Shhh… it's a surprise." He whispered in her ear. Hmm, Sheldon was getting too good at keeping secrets. She smiled to herself at the thought.

They pulled aside in downtown Los Angeles where Penny let them out and wished them well on their date. Christine waved her off before she turned to a smiling Sheldon with a quirked eyebrow.

"Union Station?"

-T—B—B—T—

"The Pacific Surfliner travels a 350 mile track between San Luis Obispo and San Diego and has an impeccable on time record in addition to the incredible views one can experience by sitting—"

Christine cut him off as she read the ticket he had handed her. "You're taking me to San Diego?" There was no emotion in the question, she was just utterly confused.

"Yes, we will return later tonight. I wanted to do something specific for you, and it could only be done in San Diego, so I thought I would also share with you my love of locomotives. Is this not satisfactory to your liking?" Maybe he_ had_ gone over the top.

"I love it! I haven't spent any significant time on a train since I was in Russia… its like all train travel there. So it will be scenic?"

"Yes, so long as we stake out the right seats."

The call to the platform sounded and Sheldon was sure to grab the small bag from Christine that he had asked her to pack, _she_ can kick ass but _he_ is a gentleman.

After Sheldon stowed their bags in the overhead he pulled down a smaller bag containing some fruit, two croissants and two bottles of orange juice and placed it on the table as he sat across from Christine. The train jerked to a start as they began to eat.

"You really thought of everything Sheldon." Christine was impressed he thought of getting her favorite brand of juice, with lots of pulp.

"Much as you once told me, I aim to please." She examined him as he ate. He was methodical, able to get every crumb into his mouth with no mess on his travel paper plate. In a sense he was hypnotic, so in control in a way she could never be. His existence allowed him to understand parts of the universe she could only glimpse, even with a comparable level of intelligence. His every little quirk, his ability to coordinate the words to hand gestures as he explains rock, paper, scissors, lizard, Spock, his understanding and focus on the macro and micro of the universe… it made him undeniably the most sexy man she ever encountered.

He caught her staring at him. "Is there something on my face?" Oh, and he was so innocent too, though she knew for sure he could be a whole lot less innocent with her.

"No, nothing sweetie. Is this train usually so empty?" There were just five other people in the car.

"Occupancy for the next few days is likely to be lower due to some track maintenance. Apparently people are afraid of being delayed but I see no real reason to worry."

She smiled. They were in a double booth which could seat four people, two on each side of the table. "So come sit with me." She patted the seat next to her.

He hoped for this. He loved watching the scenery unfold before him and it would be wonderful to hold her during it as he explained where they were, what they were passing and why he loved trains in general. He gathered their empty bottles and trash and discarded them before returning to Christine, taking the seat next to her and taking her hand in his.

They spent over a half hour in silence as they looked out across the sun rising into the sky. She was so utterly relaxed as she lent herself back into him, feeling some of the tension of the last few days melt away. Her back wasn't so sore anymore, now that the metal was gone thanks to Sheldon. And she was leaving the city for the day, one whole day that she didn't have to worry about being spotted randomly while she did errands.

"You planned this didn't you?" She asked in a gentle yet accusatory voice.

"Of course I planned the trip. Who else would?" Once again, he was confused.

"No, I mean this part. The sunrise, the relaxation. Its just remarkable Sheldon. I never saw the sunrise on this coast. I couldn't be happier right now." She turned her smile to him and her kiss landed partly on his cheek, part on the corner of his mouth.

"I'm glad." He could barely focus right now, so he just pulled her into a hug which he held for several minutes until she repositioned herself to face back out the window but remain in his embrace. Excellent, they have advanced to cuddling and he didn't even have to implement his expanded 5-point plan!

They passed the rest of the two and half hour train ride with Sheldon pointing out some of his favorite sights, telling her to remember them because they would be beautifully lit during their night ride home. His voice had been so gentle and soothing as he whispered most of his passing observations into her ear. She dozed off with twenty minutes left in the journey and he was content to watch the emotions of her dreams flick across her peaceful face.

"Wake up Christine." She gently shook her. "We're here."

She yawned and stretched. "Oh. I'm sorry I fell asleep. I was having such great dreams."

He pulled down their bags, thankful they were light enough to be easily carried throughout the day. "I rather enjoyed you asleep next to me."

The shuttle was waiting to take some of the passengers from this stop to their real destination, the infamous San Diego Zoo. They climbed aboard, taking seats across the aisle from another, older, couple. Sheldon was happy to note there were seat belts on this bus. He strapped them both in tight.

The woman across from them leaned toward Christine. "My husband was just as protective of me when we first got married. How long has it been for you two?"

Christine smiled wildly. "Actually, its our first date. He just took me down on the train from Pasadena because whatever he has in store can only be done here."

The woman lightly slapped her husband's chest in playful chastisement. "See that! Now that's romance Stephen!"

Sheldon leaned into Christine to whisper. "I take it that as a sign I am doing well thus far?"

She pat his cheek affectionately. "Very, very well sweetheart."

The shuttle stopped at the main entrance to the zoo and already Christine was getting very excited. She always wanted to come here. They had the largest and most interesting selection of breeds. And the elephants! She fell in love with them in India, even more in Africa when she and her father would sometimes safari as a little girl. They were her favorite beasts of the whole world. Large, in charge and true gentle giants.

Sheldon gave her bag back after she insisted that it was no heavier than a purse and women were used to carrying those… she could handle it.

They began their walk with the other visitors to the main entrance but Sheldon tugged on her arm and redirected her to their right. "We have something different planned."

About 500 yards and around a turn in the gate a large framed man with glasses, a pink tint to his sunny skin wearing a park hat but no uniform stood waiting for them. "Hello Dr. Cooper. It has been some time since the old Cal Tech days."

"That it has Dr. Mcneal. May I introduce my date Dr. Christine Thomas?" Christine shook his hand.

"Dr. Mcneal and I used to share a lunch table before he moved here to run the zoo, well before I met Leonard." This man was probably as close to a real friend as Sheldon had before he met the short neard of 4A.

"Its all set Sheldon." The man opened the gate and ushered them through to where a young woman, a park employee stood waiting by a humvee. "This is Marissa. She is our top lion trainer and will be taking you through the park today. You have special access, so just do as she says and you will be safe."

"Sheldon?" Christine asked wearily as they climbed into the truck. "What's going on?"

"I arranged for us to go on a safari, not some commercialized version of it either. We will really be in the habitats of all the animals you love most. It was as close as I could get to recreating those times you miss with your father without flying you to Africa."

This man was too good to be true. She told him as such as they entered the giraffe pen. He told her he thought of her as much the same.

At Marissa's instruction they got out and began to walk along the wooded areas of the large land dedicated to the long necked animals which constituted Christine's second favorite beast of the world. Sheldon held her hand as he avoided little puddles of dung and stepped over small stones. As they rounded a dense patch of leafy green forest they saw them. Three giraffes all cuddled close, all three feeding from the treetops.

She was so close to them, the stunning creatures. Even in Africa she never stood closer than several hundred yards away, but they were there, no more than twenty feet from her side. Sheldon looked to her. "Would you like to feed them?"

Her eyes bulged in excitement. "I-I can feed them?"

Sheldon was pleased with her reaction. He hadn't been sure this would be special enough but judging by the way she looked at him like he handed her a precious jewel he began to have new confidence in his plan, and pride at that. "Yes, Marissa can show us how. This is why I called in the favor for the special tour."

"Oh my God, wow. Wow. Wow." Christine's pace hastened as she lumbered to catch up to their guide now slowly approaching the giraffe's sides.

"Here." The guide directed. "Take this branch and offer it to them."

Sheldon placed his hand at the small of Christine's back as she did just that and the largest of the three began to eye her cautiously. He seemed to be examining for a threat lurking in the woman holding his treat but he bent down and took a quick nip of the leaves that grew on the branch just five feet long in Christine's hand.

She could feel herself begin to tear up. Yesterday she was dodging bullets and barely escaped the rigged yacht before the explosion killed her and today she's having close encounters of the tallest kind. Being with Sheldon introduced a whole new sort of interesting into her already abnormal life… but his brand was enchanting.

Marissa took a seat on a log about twenty feet away from the hood of the Humvee where Sheldon and Christine now sat, watching the other five giraffes come join their friends.

"You think they are anything like us Sheldon?" Christine asked. They had been just in this area for an hour now, she couldn't seem to tear herself away.

He snorted. "Well, the one with the long hair that keeps making eyes at the short one could definitely be Penny."

"Hmm… and that shy one that seems to be slightly stalking around the taller female could be Raj."

"Yes, I could see that. What about that one, who looks like he is about to perform an out of season mating ritual?"

They looked to one another and agreed in unison. "Howard." They squeezed each other's hand in chuckles.

"Let's call Marissa back. I have an idea for what to do next."

"What's that?"

"Would you like to pet a lion?"

She looked him in the eye. "Do you really need to ask?"

-T—B—B—T—

After they left the caged room Christine was invigorated. She had always been an adrenaline junkie, which of course helped her professional life. But she just did it! She _and_ Sheldon both just pet a _real _lion. Even though they agreed on no electronic media she couldn't resist updating her facebook status to: Tip to my male friends. If you want to impress a girl, join her in petting big cats. the SD zoo with Sheldon, taming Lions.

His phone beeped to alert him to his tag in her post. "Oh good! The date has been made facebook worthy!"

She chuckled as they made their way to the cafeteria for a quick lunch.

"I can't believe," she finished chewing the last of her hamburger, "That you were able to arrange all that."

"I suggest we take the rest of the time we have here to see the usual tour before one last little surprise and then back to the train station."

"Anything you want honey, I am putty in your hands today."

He enjoyed that.

They left the cafeteria to take in the usual animal exhibits. Polar bears, walruses, the petting zoo, cheetahs, these had been mutual favorites. But of course, Sheldon had to pull off one last stunt to make the day perfect before the evening ride home.

"So when you were in India you rode elephants right?"

"Yeah. I think I told you about my pet elephant Rusty? He's who my tattoo is of."

He figured as much. This would great then, she could teach him a thing or two.

Sheldon walked her to the elephant habitat as others watched on. Lots were taking photos and of course so was Christine. Observing her, Sheldon couldn't begin to describe how much she seemed to enjoy just the sight of them. It was like she screamed a passion for the creatures that could stomp on her without effort. But of course, they were fairly well natured and Christine would most likely not be scared away anyhow. She had pet that lion like it was the kitty cat Leonard so desperately wanted.

The elephant trainer came on the speakers as she spoke into her microphone from behind the habitat's fence. "Welcome ladies and gentleman. We have a special treat for you today. Every once in a while we have found it helpful for our rescued elephants to have some outside interaction with a human used to their presence. One of our audience members used to own one herself in India so we invite her and her friend now to help us out, if she is willing."

This man better damn marry her. That was the final straw in the decision. He knew her, all of her, all too well. He made more effort in this one day than anyone made in her whole life to see happiness in her eyes. This was indeed the perfect date.

She climbed the fence and nearly dragged Sheldon along as she approached her favorite animal. She didn't need to listen to the trainer's directions to which elephant was hers. It was the shy one, the one having a hard time adjusting to the company of like kind. She reminded her of Sheldon. So special, so unique and still cast as an outsider. It made both of them all the more precious to her.

She grabbed Sheldon's hand to pull him along. He was obviously intimidated by the size of the animal before him. The trunk was probably the size of his body alone. But that made it all the more exciting to Christine.

"Here." She directed. "Stand in her line of sight and approach with me. Walk slow and respond to my movements as I make them." Sheldon gulped. He was starting to regret this but he knew he couldn't back away, this was making Christine too happy.

They moved closer at a steady pace until the elephant yawned wide and then lowered her head towards Christine and Sheldon. It was an offer to play.

Christine moved the hand joined to Sheldon's to press them both against the elephant's trunk. She heard the trainer narrate their actions as them approaching 'Betsy'.

Betsy was such a good girl. She wound her trunk gently to tap Sheldon on the bum before she lowered her body to the ground. The trainer informed the crowd she rarely saw an elephant respond so quickly to a rider before.

Christine gently rubbed Betsy's ears between her hands, massaging them and running the effect down to her ribs where she stroked in circular patterns.

"Are you ready Besty?" she asked. "This is Sheldon. He's the best guy in the world. Is it ok if he comes on too?" Her calming voice seemed to soothe the animal. A slight wave of its ear being its only response.

Christine pulled up the stool sitting a few feet away before climbing on it and propelling herself onto Betsy's back. She noticed the small reigns strapped around her ride's body and was thankful she didn't have to do this bareback, it had been a very long time since she did anything like this. She held her hand down to Sheldon. "Come on!" she cheered.

"No, no. This is your thing. Its all yours." He was petrified to ride an animal. They were utterly unpredictable, wild, savage. A little like Christine in a way, no wonder she felt kinship to them.

"Please Sheldon?" Oh no, puppy eyes. Why did she have to use puppy eyes?

He sighed. "Very well." He took her hand and climbed aboard. Christine gave some sort of signal to the elephant that he did not understand and he found himself clenching onto her for dear life as Besty stood up and began her slow march around the habitat. Christine was aware of how big of a treat this is. Sure, this elephant was used to the domestic life, she could tell. But it was never a custom to let someone ride one in captivity… too great a liability. And she knew this because she tried it once. How Sheldon was able to convince Dr. Mcneal spoke of both his dedication to the date and her happiness as well as his confidence in her.

So, to be fair to everyone else, she rouded toward the trainer. "Would it be ok if I walked her closer where they could pet her trunk?"

She was unsure but looking back on everyone casting excited and jealous gazes she nodded, so long as only the tip of the trunk was close enough to the crowd.

Anyone who found out about this later would have been so disspointed they missed it. Christine and Sheldon rode Betsy close so she could sniff the little children and be pat on the nose. She didn't even try to take anyone's food. A sign she had been used for years in a domestic setting.

Finally Christine decided the excitement was enough for herself and for Betsy so she rounded her up back to the stool and let herself and Sheldon down. She saddled next to Betsy's ear and hugged herself close, planting a little kiss on her. "Thank you sweetie." She said to Betsy and to Sheldon as well.

-T—B—B—T—

They boarded the Pacifice Surfliner headed back to Los Angeles just before six thirty at night. Once again Sheldon led the way to seat selection. This car was entirely empty other than the conductor and themselves. He came to check their ticket and left them saying "All yours sir."

"What did he mean?" Christine asked Sheldon.

"I tipped him well so that he would keep this car clear and leave us to our devices."

"You bribed him?" Was she hearing this right? Oh, she totally corrupted him!

"In a manner of speaking, yes."

He waited several minutes, enjoying the proximity to her as they shared the table booth. She was warm, humming with contentment from a day well spent. He stood up and retrieved their bags.

"Here, go change. We both smell from our day." He knew it was not romantic to discuss body odor. Leonard warned him about this point in the plan but he had few alternatives.

"Ah, ok." She took the bag and walked to the back bathroom. Sheldon meanwhile quickly snapped to action as soon as the door had closed. First he tugged off his layed shirts and put on an undershirt and one of the collared shirts his Meemaw and mother gave him for his birthday. Then he set out the decorations. He could hear Christine washing her hands, he had to hurry!

She came out refreshed in her little black dress, looking down at her bag as she finished zipping and walking back to the table. When she got there she found an incredible display. Sheldon was all dressed up for her, his deep blue shirt playing off the color of his eyes. The white table cloth fell halfway to the floor and an LED candle glowed by the window, mimicking the view of all the city lights that seemed to perpetually illuminate the coastline.

"Sheldon. What's all this?" She was dumstruck as she took her seat. He had set out wine glasses (both filled with grape juice) and two plates that were delivered from the snack car. Chicken carbonara on each.

"You do like Italian don't you?"

"Yes of course. I eat everything, you know that. This is one of my favorites actually." It really was too. It might not be healthy but lord did she love bacon.

She ate with gusto as the two talked over the day. Sheldon said his favorite part was the polar bears. Three months in the Arctic and he hadn't come across one of them.

Christine's favorite was of course the elephant but he had made a little dream come true when she got to feed he giraffe.

"Well, I do know how much you love new things. I thought you might enjoy yourself today."

"Enjoy myself? Sheldon I didn't enjoy myself." His face fell. "I had an absolute blast!"

She moved to his side of the table, their dinners long forgotten. She tucked her feet under her, her knees resting against his thighs. Her body swiveled to face him as she pulled his face to look at her in the eye.

"This has been beyond a doubt the most perfect date I could have ever imagined." She was a tad nervous right now as she drew herself closer to his lips.

"Sheldon." It was a near moan in a whisper.

"Christine." He breathed her name like a prayer before he closed the gap to her lips. They were the softest, most firm substance he ever felt. His own lips were tingling as they parted, allowing her to take his bottom lip between her own and gently massage as she sucked on it.

Just the smallest bits of pleasured moans were escaping them as they held a nearly chaste rhythm before they both had to suck back for air. When their lungs were filled they returned back with a little more enthusuam, Sheldon ready to take it to a new level. He opened his lips wider now, experiementally running his tonge along the opening of her own. She allowed him entry and gasped as he licked her teeth. He let his hand reach up into her hair as she tangled hers in his, gently pulling at the roots. The sensation shot little bolts of electricity down his back and to his toes.

He was hungry for her now as they continued to trace and explored one another's soft lips, discovering what each liked most.

She loved it when he trailed his fingers along the traces of her earlobes as he tugged gently on her lower lip. And he loved when she swirled her tongue around his own, making light strokes along the roof of his mouth.

When they parted for air again they held faces to meet at the forehead. Their breaths were labored and they both knew they only had a few minutes left of the train ride, they were almost to Los Angeles now.

Christine pulled away first, keeping her eyes locked on his. She stroked his cheek and he lightly traced over her lips again. Simultaneously they both said it. It was inevitable, it had to be done.

"I love you."

The three little words crushed them together again until the conductor forced them to disembark at the station.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: I love the reviews guys! I still have some twists and turns up my sleeve and a lot of them are rated M. So, fair warning.

I do not own The Big Bang Theory.

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><p>They probably should have been embarrassed but they were too into one another to notice the leer the cab driver was giving them in the rearview mirror as they made out in the back seat. Of course, it was all good with the driver. Not only did he get to see a little extra of the beautiful woman's skin as Sheldon's hand rode up her thigh, pulling up the hem of the dress, but when he deposited them in front of the building, Sheldon was too distracted to count out the fare and just threw out a few wadded bills to the driver. It was nearly a sixty percent tip.<p>

He was kissing her passionately when she unlocked the front door. Then she was kissing him as he led her toward the stairs. Step. Step, kiss, step, snag against the wall. Kiss.

They were fumbling their way to the second floor landing when Sheldon switched to nipping in that sweet spot on her neck behind her ear. She purred.

Step, step.

They ascended to toward the third floor and he let her press him against the wall, his hands pined beside his head. She undid the top two buttons of his shirt with her teeth, trailing delicate kisses over his slightly exposed clavicle. He returned the pinning gesture, slamming her with force, not that she noticed, against the opposing wall, tangling his hands into her hair and devouring her kisses.

She gently tugged him along their trudge to the fifth floor, now having rounded the third floor landing. Their giggles could be heard throughout the hall as Christine's lead halted. She fell into a sitting position when Sheldon had shocked her and pinched her behind. Leaning back on the stairs behind her, she relished the predatory look in Sheldon's eyes as he lowered himself against her, his firm grip on her leg stopping her slow rise to the next stair tred, using his knees to part her legs and gain entry between them.

She roared in a moan and wrapped a leg around his back, she now being pressed almost painfully into the edge of the stairs behind her. His kisses were working their way lower now, beginning to tease their way under the low scoop neck of her black dress. She bit down hard on her bottom lip as he made his little nip at the bulging flesh of her upper breast. Her head bent back in pleasure. But her game wasn't over yet.

She pushed him up, making as though she was fumbling to unbutton his shirt more but just couldn't get it. When he sat up to help her she took the opportunity and launched herself into a run up the stairs only to be caught by a snagging hand around her hip on the fourth floor landing.

He pressed her flat against the fourth floor elevator doors, grunting as she ran her hands over his ass. He had to let go of his hold on her lips when she continued her assault and ran one hand over his outer thigh to then slightly graze his full length standing at attention through the thin material of his pants. Now he was breathlessly moaning. "Yet another great memory from these elevator doors."

"Mmmhmm." was her only response as he reclaimed his hold on her, now half carrying, half dragging her up the remainder of the stairs. They hit the fifth floor and she ducked out from under him in such a quick movement he knew only his spy girlfriend could pull of and she grabbed him by the shirt as they continued to stumble their way to her apartment, only to be halted by him pining her to her door.

He pulled his copy of her apartment key from his pants with far more panache than any other man could muster when the woman he loved was teasingly poking her tongue into the hollow of his earlobe. They nearly tripped inside, each losing a little of their balance as the lock gave way and the door swung open to the living room where they could finally, finally get the privacy they needed, where they could do what they wanted to one another- alone.

She was so ready, so unbelievably focused on how ready she was to be taken. So, had the man not made the nearly inaudible cough, things may have gone differently for all of them. Her mood instantly snapped to survival. All the training she had from early childhood flooded her instincts as she pivoted from Sheldon's body, took that one necessary step forward into the depths of her apartment. She stomped the floorboard at an odd thirty degree angle, forcing the firearm loaded on a spring to propel itself directly to her grasp. The safety was already disabled, she would only need a spring launched weapon if she was prepared to use it, so in the same moment the revolver made contact to her skin, she pulled the trigger.

Sheldon's mind raced to remember all of the mechanics of how that motion prompted the combustion necessary to propel the bullet from the chamber, through the barrel and directly into the base of the skull of the man turned away from them, severing his spine and killing him instantly.

She pulled on Sheldon's shirt behind her, lowering him to the ground as she took her protective stance in front of him. Swinging her weapon to the kitchen, she fired again. This time the bullet hit the second man's hand, forcing him to drop the gun he had pointed at—not her, at her _friends_, all tied up and gagged around the dining table.

"Кто - Вы?" she demanded of him as she advanced upon him. Sheldon wasn't panicking as she thought he would. His ever practical-self went immediately to untie his friends, starting with Leonard.

"Вы уже знаете." He spat it out before she scooped the knife from his grasp and plunged it through his common carotid artery.

"Holly Jesus!" Howard cried as soon as his gag was freed.

"Is there anyone else?" She asked and they all shook their heads no. "Good." She walked to the door to secure it and flicked on the security monitor. "How long have you been up here?"

"They got Leonard and I from my apartment three hours ago. Everyone else followed about an hour later. Christine, what the hell is going on. Who were those guys?" Penny was frantically trying to make sense of the situation. There she had been online looking at china patterns with her future husband and next she knew she was tied to Christine's dining room chair, and in _Sheldon's_ spot no less.

Christine ignored the question in favor of getting things done. She had a lot to do and little time to get it done. If these guys were who she thought, and she knew they were, then that had one chance to get out of here.

The first thing was to attend to the dead men in her apartment. Their presence was freaking her friends out and so long as they were in that emotional state it would be very difficult to lead them.

Sheldon wrapped his arm around Christine possessively, trying to calm her frantic movements as she illogically began wrapping the dead men's wounds in gauze. "What are you doing?"

"I am stopping the bleeding from letting out on the floor. Get the coke from the refrigerator and saturate the floors where the blood spills are." She looked around and demanded them all into action. "Don't go near the windows. Those two were just spotters. Classic KGB. The snipers will just be the backup, the real deal will be here in less than fifteen minutes, I assume. Penny. Can you hog tie these guys for me? Leonard, help her stuff them in these. Make them as thinly compact as possible." She handed Penny rope and Leonard two oversized dark red duffle bags. When they did nothing, she relented momentarily.

"Look. We have no time right now. I will answer every question you have when we get to safety. But if we don't do this right now none of us will make it out of here alive. Do as I say and you will survive."

She barked out orders left and right. Sheldon cleaned up all the blood and even gave a quick test with the black light- it wouldn't be detected by any crime scene unit.

Penny and Leonard laboriously tied the two corpses into a position where they could fit inside the duffle bags, trying not to think about what exactly it is they were doing.

Howard and Raj followed Christine's instructions and dismantled the side of her bookcase, revealing a pocket in the wall where eight small duffle bags had been packed. Each was labeled in masking tape with one of their names. They fished them out and repaired the shelving unit so no one would see it had been tampered with.

Amy and Bernadette followed Christine back into her room where they tried to hide their shock when Christine raised her mattress off the bed slats and then removed those. It revealed a large cubby filled to the brim with all sorts of weaponry. Automatic weapons and ammunition, swords, throwing knives, blast packs, IEDs, climbing equipment, and what looked suspiciously like a hybrid between a rocket launcher and a flame thrower, all were packed into large bags and carried out to the living room.

Christine had Amy fix her bed back up while everyone else finished their projects and she pried up several of the floor boards under where her train case rested. The space where insulation should have filled was instead piled high in stacks of cash. She handed them each three bundles to keep on their person and stashed the rest into two satchels. She handed one to Leonard, along with a set of car keys before she fixed the floor, moved the train case back over it and escorted everyone out the door, Raj and Sheldon each carrying one of the dead bodies.

-T—B—B—T—

They had followed her obediently and silently as she led them down one flight of stairs. She picked the locked to Mrs. Vertabedien's apartment and pointed them in the direction of the back hall before closing the door behind them. She regained their lead and went through the second bedroom to the fire escape.

"Won't we be exposed to the sniper out here?" Bernadette asked in a shaky voice.

"No. The angle of the roof above us will get us clean to the street. We will have ten feet of clearance from there to climb down to the tunnels."

Christine was entirely in control of her person. Her heart was racing and she was hyperaware of her natural endocrine response to danger. The adrenaline she was so used to made her only the more productive. She walked with pure confidence, and beside her, so did Sheldon.

He had no idea what he was doing or where he was going but he was aware that his mood in this would make or break how the others reacted. He trusted her implicitly and he did the calculations. No matter what had just happened or why it was happening, the chance of group survival narrowed to zero if they did not heed to every one of Christine's directions. They were the alphas of the pack, would have soon been a mated pair, and they needed to stick together.

Christine kicked in the small basement window of the building across the back alley and ushered everyone through with Sheldon leading and she taking up the rear. "Walk straight until you hit the back wall." she instructed as she went off for a minute to a side room. When she came out and caught up with the group she had a stack of manila envelopes in her hand.

She retook the lead, taking a casual pace as she guided them through what was indeed a series of underground tunnels they had accessed through a boarded up hole in the wall.

"How did you know these were here?" Sheldon asked in genuine curiosity.

"They were dug as relief areas in case of building collapse in the late 1800's. They were boarded up and abandoned after others similar to these collapsed in Whittier. These are structurally sound though. They will let us out in the parking garage two blocks from here."

She stopped their progress about ten feet from the opening to the garage. They could smell the scent of exhaust and car oil just beyond the boarded up opening. She took out a chisel and ran it around a natural seem in the brick around them. One popped out, followed by another. Then a handle was revealed. She pulled using her whole body as leverage.

"Put the bodies in here. They will be cremated from the high blast-heat cleaning cycle."

Sheldon followed her directions and tossed the two bundles into the narrow shaft where they impacted twenty feet below to the sewage treatment furnace. "Efficient." Sheldon commented emotionlessly.

The other friends stared at the newest couple in complete and utter sick fascination. They were depending on two people who could easily take over the world but where also terrifyingly civil about the whole business. Two men just died! Sure, they were captors but they just incincerated them as if they were common bags of garbage! Sheldon being unemotional was alright, they could reason with that. But Christine's cool conduct, her assurance in her leadership was both encouragingly comforting and undeniably terrifying. Suddenly, everyone was thankful that she was on _their_ side.

"Here." She handed them each a manila envelope. "Inside you have two alternative identities each. If for any reason we get separated you _must_ adopt the top identity first. Do not hesitate and do not look back. Being friends with me has put targets on all your backs and if you contact any family or friends it will paint one on theirs."

With that she motioned for them to follow her to two cars parked at the far end of the floor. She silently pointed one out to Leonard. It was nothing special. A two year old Nissan Sentra in sandstone. He obediently placed his items in the half full trunk along with Penny's.

"Howard and Bernie, you go with them. Penny, take this bag. It has an assortment of weapons. Do not engage in firefight if I am in your proximity unless you are instructed. They may not realize you are an accomplice vehicle if they come after us. Follow two cars back and when I take an exit, take the next one and double back. I will find you."

She began to walk towards the other car when Howard screetched at her. "Wait a frakkin second! Are you going to tell us what is going on?"

She turned. They deserved to know this, withholding from them would do no real good now. But it had been hard enough to tell this to Sheldon. She looked at him, silently pleading for him to explain the situation to his friends.

"Christine is a spy. She has many enemies. Obviously this group decided we would all be useful as leverage in forcing Christine to comply to their will. They simply underestimated her prowess." Sheldon exclaimed the statement in cool pride. And he was proud. He was scared out of his mind of course, who wouldn't be? But she was handling this like the top agent he was sure she was.

"A spy. Ok. A spy." Howard muttered uncomprehendingly.

"Howie. We have to go." Bernadette was feeling it too. That natural matriarchal instinct to protect your loved ones. She was firey and direct like the other women in the group, all of which were taking this a lot easier than the guys.

"Oh what the hell!" Leonard threw his hands up. "Why not! A spy!"

At that they all climbed in the two cars and set off. Where to? Well, that was still unknown.

-T—B—B—T—

Raj was the king of awkward silence but even he had enough after twenty minutes in the car and no one saying a word. "So, we sent in that apology letter Sheldon."

"Thank you Raj." Sheldon continued to look straight ahead. He had tried to claim Christine's hand while she drove but she pat it back stating she might need it if they had to maneuver suddenly. He wanted her desperately, even more now than just a half hour ago in her apartment now that they were facing a possible end.

"I assume it will mean little now, since our old lives are now in effect dead." Amy had reverted to her most logical self to keep from feeling the fear and the sense of loss.

"I will make the calls necessary to preserve those identities as long as possible. It should be several weeks before any permanent damage could be caused by our absence." Christine informed them. She had a plan, she always did. And Sheldon knew this. He knew that chapter four of the purple section of the disaster readiness binder included a detailed list of excuses and favors each person could utilize to avoid being discovered or reprimanded in case of a necessary absence.

She pulled off the next exit, pleased that Leonard followed her directions and kept moving. She took a back road, turned back to where the next exit let off from the freeway, and waited on the side where Leonard would soon pass.

Leonard spotted the hazard lights of the familiar green Jetta on the side of the road and pulled to a stop ten yards in front of them. Everyone in Christine's car remained inside as she got out and went to the passenger side window.

Penny rolled it down.

"I need everything electronic from everyone in the car. Remove the batteries from your phones and discard them along with the devices into that trash can. We all tossed ours out the windows at random intervals."

They all began to pass the electronics to Leonard who gathered them and walked with Christine to the garbage can.

"Won't they be able to trace all these in a line to us?" he asked, it only made sense.

"That's why I took the route we did. It zigzags across enough terrain and overlapped that it is unlikely they could pinpoint a pattern of it. Sheldon could, maybe. But even he said it would likely only lead him to our next step, if that." She lit a match and brought it to a chemical pack she was holding.

She dropped it in the barrel and advised Leonard he should back up. As soon as he did he could hear the hissing. "What is that?"

"I told you I was a chemist. It should reduce those down to a primordial pool of metal and nothing more."

He nodded. Science really was cool. "Why did I have to take a different exit?"

"If we split up I can see if anyone is following us. If I spotted someone behind us and then they continued onto me it would be clear. If they continued onto you but did not follow you off the exit it would mean you are safe and not a target vehicle."

"Do you have a plan on where we are going to sleep tonight?"

"Yes. Take this list." She handed him a grocery shopping list with about ten items listed. "There is a grocery about a mile north on this road. Get those and some extra chocolate for Penny. Then drive back this way. Stay straight and keep passing. I will catch up and overtake you to lead you from there."

-T—B—B—T—

While the other car load went to the grocery down the street Christine turned off the hazard lights and climbed back in the car to move it down into an empty parking lot several feet away. She parked facing the street but directly towards the exit.

"Should we play a car game while we wait?" Sheldon suggested.

"Dude, how can you be taking this so well… unless, are you a spy too?" Raj was overheating in his anxiety.

"That's absurd. Of course not. I only learned of Christine's status last night. I simply understand that it is illogical to have emotional responses to the stimuli present. We must try to maintain the status quo as much as humanly possible."

Even Christine joined in the sentiment. The status quo is long gone.

"Alright Amy. I'm gonna teach you how to fire a gun." Christine turned back to her mousy brown haired friend. She felt so sorry for her. Just yesterday her biggest worry was that she was too worried she would be bad in bed with Raj and today she needed to learn how to defend herself.

"Alright." Oh, what was she getting into?

Christine reached under her seat and withdrew a large rifle and handed it to Amy. She watched as the girl took it in, experimentally running her hands over it.

"Hold onto that until we set for the night. You most likely won't need to use it and if you do just let your instincts work. Tomorrow we will set about teaching you all essential skills. But I am happy to see, Amy, that you are not intimidated by a large weapon."

Without notice, Christine put the car into drive and followed the Sentra for half a mile before overtaking it. She took the first right and then two left turns, bringing the cars to a large wooded area. She parked and instructed everyone in both cars to get out.

She unscrewed the license plates to both cars, and of course there were no VIN numbers on either, what sort of careless spy would make that mistake?

Everyone threw the straps of their personal bags over their shoulders and gathered around her as she handed out more payload from the trunks. They were entirely empty within five minutes and she began a steep climb up a small trail to their right.

"Where are we going?" Sheldon was spooked being in the woods at just before midnight with nothing other than the few flashlights they held to provide illumination.

"We have about a half mile walk tonight before we can set up camp. We will stay the night and then move in the morning to a more secure location. If anyone had followed us we will lose them in the trails."

-T—B—B—T—

Camp was set with four tents and two sleeping bags in each, set about twenty feet apart. They made no fire but did hang their food bags in a tree about a hundred feet away from the site.

Sheldon became nervous once it was evident that each couple would share a tent and he would be with Christine. Of course he would have been sharing sleeping quarters with her tonight anyhow, had things gone differently. They had been only a few seconds from coitus when they got to her apartment, if he read the situation right.

He opened his bag and changed behind a large tree a small distance from camp. Christine included a long sleeve and a short sleeve shirt, a pair of underwear, socks, and pajama bottoms but no shirt in his bag. It was full to capacity.

He slid the bottoms on, aware that he would be sleeping next to Christine with a bare chest. His current shirts were heavily soiled from the little adventure they just had. He deposited them and his other dirty clothing into the oversized ziplock bag Christine had packed. She was very aware of his needs.

"Christine." He whispered. He would have knocked, but that is impossible with a tent.

"Come in Sheldon." She began to unzip the flap for him.

He climbed inside and noticed that the two sleep bags were opened to one another, one resting on the other and zippered together. So they would really be sleeping in the same makeshift bed. How was he going to handle this?

He laid down next to her and noticed she seemed awfully quiet. "Are you alright Chrissy?" he asked.

"That's the second time you called me that." She was affectionate yet worried. Last time he used it was when he was demanding she tell him she was a spy. She hoped that it was an endearment and not a method of scolding.

"Do you not like it? I thought you could call me Shelly as well as my family does. Is that not what couples do?" He could just barely make out the line of her face as he spoke to her. She was backed away from him as far as the shared bedding allowed.

"Oh." She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Shelly. You are taking this all so well."

He moved to kiss her and when he did he felt the moisture on her cheek. She was crying, silently. What could be causing this? She had not seemed in emotional distress before. She had reacted to the situation as naturally as she he reacted to an equation on his board.

"Don't cry. I don't know what to do when women cry."

"Oh Shelly." She buried her face into his chest. It took her several minutes to calm down. She wanted to apologize to him for ruining their date. He had made it so special and the chemistry between them as they advanced up the stairs… just- wow.

It just dawned on her, he had called them a couple. "So we are a couple now?"

"Of course. Are we not? I thought for sure we were headed towards coit—"

She sternly cut him off. "What have I told you about using that world Sheldon?"

Oh yes, she disliked clinical descriptions of her relationships. "That it belongs back at the zoo and does not get you hot and bothered as you like to be with me."

"So then shouldn't you try a different approach?" he could feel her smile into his chest, her breath warming him.

"Would you have made love to me tonight?"

"Yes."

"And we will not be doing that now?" Hey, a man has to try.

"No. I want to, but no. Everyone would hear and we should really rest tonight."

"So it would be that loud and rigorous?"

Oh Jesus, she was getting hot just talking about it. "Yes. Do you not remember how we were in the hallway?"

"Of course I do." He had to will his body to stop remembering it though. Tonight was going to take all his years of practicing sheer will power. "I have an eidetic memory. I assume we would have been quite active together but you must remember that I have little experience in this area."

"You could have fooled me." Really, he could have. "But yes, we would have done so and I really, really want to right now, but lets make it when we aren't hiding out in the woods."

"So, when the time is right, we will advance to that." It was a question and a statement.

"Yes. That is what good couples do." She wrapped herself around Sheldon's vampire posed form and settled into listening to his even breath.

'"I meant what I said tonight Christine." He would have rubbed her back but her wounds were still tender from yesterday. So he settled for stroking her hair. "And I don't make such changes without full conversion."

Just before she dozed off she pulled him impossibly closer to her. She was positively an insomniac except for when around him. "I know Sheldon. I am the same way, and I meant it too."

"Goodnight then."

Her slight snore alerted him that she was already asleep. He looked down on her and sighed at the sight of her hair draped over his bare chest and once again took comfort in knowing he really did rather enjoy her sleeping by his side.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: I accidently posted the wrong chap before! Guess that's what happens when I post at 4am. So here's the next chapter. Hope you like it. Might be a little M if you count criminal activity... I am really bad at ratings.

I do not own the Big Bang Theory.

* * *

><p>He kicked and lashed out at the body above him before he opened his eyes. The hand was firm over his mouth and he instinctively wanted to scream.<p>

"Shhhh." It was the softest whisper he ever heard and it was only audible to him because of his Vulcan hearing. It was her. He opened his eyes.

She had a hint of panic and pleading in her expression as she held the index finger of her other hand vertically blocking her lips. She was begging for full compliance and absolute silence. He was sure they just might be about to die.

He nodded to indicate he understood. When she released him she handed over a scribbled note.

_Gather your things. Leave the tent and wake the others. No sound._

He followed her example. Quickly shoving on his pants and the long sleeve shirt, he packed and abandoned his shelter. She had already moved into Leonard's tent and Penny was already also silently mobile outside. They gave one another a worried glance before going to wake Howard and Bernadette and Amy and Raj.

Still, the camp was silent.

It took four minutes for them all to emerge dressed and paranoid. Each looking in every direction to see the threat. Christine approached the nucleolus of the group and handed each person one firearm and one more bag as she divided up the supplies. The food had been taken down and divvied between them as well, but none could eat at this moment. They knew something was up. They knew the threat was everywhere.

Christine pulled the tents up from their stakes and silently smashed them together before dousing them with some chemical that dissolved them into a puddle. It suddenly made sense to Amy; a spy studying chemistry hadn't quite worked itself out in her head until that moment. She was covering their tracks and she was good at it.

Christine lined everyone up and took the lead.

They naturally followed her, hyper aware of her stance. She slightly crouched at the knees while generally remained erect. Her gaze would sweep back to them enough where they could see that she used her eyes to change the focus of her vision more than her neck. Suddenly they became aware of a new type of focus in their own peripheral vision.

The trail was heavily wooded, difficult to navigate through the large patches of briar brush and large logs necessary to step over.

Every instinct in Leonard's body wanted to run as far as fast as he could from whatever threat they were attempting to outpace. But as the pure silence of the group continued he became aware of how that would be a fatal mistake. In this terrain, it is sound that is the enemy. The trees were too compact to easily line up shots. The trails too narrow yet visibly clear for several yards ahead to sneak up and attack. So the only real method of detection an assailant would have would be to stock you, follow you to a more open area where they could still take cover. And they could only do that through the music of your footsteps, your talking, your breath.

When the realization hit him he channeled the few yoga classes he too with Penny to calm the pace of his breath so it passed seamlessly in and out of him, drawing no extraneous noise. And he began to acrobatically place each step, carefully thinking it through ahead of time so as to not disturb the fallen leaves and branches below.

This same realization hit each party member sporadically through the first forty minutes of the hike. Penny was the first to understand. She understood the moment she opened her eyes and took in Christine's expression. When she would hunt with her father she would have to tread as lightly as her body could take her, afraid to scare off the deer. But she knew that this time last night was not a dream, it was real and they were all being hunted. She prayed that Christine would not have to make use of her weapon today, she couldn't handle the idea of another person in a body bag. But she did note that she felt safer this morning as she trailed Christine and Sheldon, who seemed to trust her implicitly.

Sheldon watched each sway of her hips as she moved in front of them and admired her dually. First, it was her obvious attributes. She was curvy, agile, stunning really. And even in this fearful state he would take the chance if she presented it to snake an arm around her and drag her off caveman style. He needed and craved her in every way. He wanted her body, he wanted to Vulcan mind meld to her, he wanted her to hold him and tell him it was ok. Because the second way he admired her was in the care she took. Yesterday he saw her in spy mode but he was not able to really just watch her. Now he could. He studied her like an anthropologist watching a huntress stalk unseen prey. And that is just how she held herself. They were the targets, they were the ones in potential mortal danger, yet she was on the hunt. A comment his father made on football crossed his mind. The best defensive player is the one who stocks the opponent and not the ball.

The others were watching her too. They adopted every change in posture Christine displayed. When she would hold out her right arm to the side they naturally slowed. When she held her hand straight up it meant to freeze. And when her head twitched in a direction, each head behind her twitched into a slightly different one from all the rest. Every angle of the compass was covered.

They could see her listening. They could feel the focus of her ears as one of them slightly snapped a twig and she immediately categorized it in terms of 'natural', 'us', or 'them'. With even more purpose each step was taken.

It had been well over an hour as their slow wade through the dense forest began to reveal a sudden clearing ahead. Some of the group were relieved, they could get out of the forest! And some were afraid, the road ahead was clear but that meant anyone in the woods could easily spot them and they would have no cover.

Christine's stance turned into a low standing crawl. She was bent in a crouch, still moving foot forward step by step at a time. The moment her height lowered, so did the rest.

They neared the clearing and plainly saw that the road was raised above their current path. They would hit a four foot embankment before they could climb higher to the paved way. On the other side of it was a parking area for picnickers. Two vehichles were parked. One, an ancient Oldsmobile. The other a fairly new Dodge Caravan. The owners of the vehicles were talking to one another.

Christine displayed the signal to stop and turned to point at each of them, and then to a spot along the embankment. They instantly set to their assigned places and she pressed herself to the side, low enough to avoid line of sight from anyone nearby.

Again, she hushed them silently before holding her hands out in front of them. _Remain here._ It read.

She casually stood up and dusted off the rump of her pants. She climbed the embankment, making to fix her hair by running her fingers through the locks. She wasn't vain. It was a social tool as she turned on a friendly but reserved smile to the mother from the caravan and talking with the elderly couple from the Oldsmobile. She pegged it. Grandparents. Good, because she would feel bad about this next part otherwise. She walked past her.

"Oh! Excuse me miss!" The mother called from beside her post at the Oldsmobile's window. "You dropped this." And indeed, Christine had dropped her granola bar. She went back to retrieve it, standing next to the woman in front of the car window.

"Oh, thank you! I would have starved on the trail otherwise, I think I know where I am going but maybe you could tell me. Do you have any idea where the Carob pass starts?" making stuff up, that's how we do it.

The grandfather made to look as if he knew what he was talking about and pointed toward the direction which would take her behind the caravan. Good, shaves a few moves off her plan.

"Oh great, thanks! Have a good day." She gave a thankful smirk to the three and a tiny wave to the baby in the carrier on the mother's back. She really loved kids, but this was no time to ogle the cuteness.

Walking around the caravan to get out of sight, she opened the opposite door and signaled to the group to load in. She had pick pocketed the keys while speaking to the mom.

She noticed Sheldon begin to take the hint and climb out nonchalantly, as though he too was a simple hiker coming off a trail. As the group began the move she went back over to the car.

"Didn't find it eh?" the mother asked. She knew her father was talking out of his ass.

"Nope, but I do think I remember hearing something about a hotspring I might like to check out. Do you guys know of it? Are you guys from around here?"

"Oh yes, we have lived in the area our whole lives. In fact, my father held a county seat…." Sheesh, this guy made it too easy. She learned all about them in the few minutes it took him to finish. By now everyone should be loaded in.

"Wow." Fake fascination. "Sorry to interrupt this, but I really gotta pee. Is there a bathroom in that building over there?" She made to look as if urgently examining it.

"Oh yes. Hey daddy lets get moving. The picnic is getting cold. Here hun come with me, I gotta get this one's diaper changed in there anyhow." The young mother ushered her to the bathhouse while making polite conversation. Once inside Christine went into a stall and quieted, sneaking out of it when the mother preoccupied herself with cooing to her baby.

She ran back to the car, starting it with the remote and jetted out of there like a bat of hell. But only after tossing two stacks of her cash into the Oldsmobile.

-T—B—B—T—

A mile down the road Christine pulled over and switched the plates out for the ones that were extras she took from the old car. It would hold them for a little while.

"There are all sorts of illegality occurring in this vehicle at the moment. It is stolen, there are only seven seats so Bernadette is without a safety harness or proper area to rest her tush and now we have illegal plates." Sheldon observed, but with little emotion in the comment.

"Don't lecture me Sheldon. I am doing what I have to." Christine was purely on defense. She isn't proud of herself either, but he doesn't need to rub it in.

"I wasn't lecturing you. I was simply trying to determine how long my prison sentence will be."

She gave him a death glare from the corner of her eye. "Even if we did get pulled over by the authorities I would get us out of it." Her voice was stern; no one would question it, except Sheldon.

"How?"

"Undercover cop."

"Undercover cop?"

"Yes, it is one of my established aliases. I had to use it last time I ran into the law."

"Just exactly how long have you been doing this?" Penny had to ask. They have gotten like zero detail from her so far.

"Twenty five years."

"Since you were three?" Penny was horrified. What was this? Some sort of super soldier breeding and training program?

"Yes. My father was a spy. He unknowingly endangered me as part of his cover toward the end of the Cold War. Had I not been so intelligent at a young age I wouldn't have picked up on all the secrets and the lies. Had I been older I would have seen what figuring out the puzzles in the newspaper for daddy would have led to." She shut her mouth. She was saying nothing more on her father.

Silence followed. Again, Raj was the one to speak. His selective mutism now seemed permanently knocked away.

"Were they following us?"

"Not the whole time. We lost them. There was definitely someone who followed our trail to the cars. I scouted early this morning and saw the evidence. When I returned I couldn't be sure at first if the steps I was hearing were hunters or _hunters_. But after a half hour into the hike I could tell the difference in the cadence. But I must commend you all. After some time you hardly made a peep."

"So why did we have to remain silent?" Leonard was beyond tense at this point. He was clinging to the inhaler Christine packed for him like a lifeline.

"Just because those hunters were not a threat did not mean one was not out there lurking. Number one lesson in your spy training: the threat is everywhere."

-T—B—B—T—

Christine had let everyone out at the nearest gas station so they could wash up in the restrooms and purchase gas for the rest of the drive.

It was going better than she expected. She never had to care for seven other people before. Sure, there had been those two agents she got out. And the child of a diplomat she oversaw for fourteen days until the assassin was apprehended. But seven adults totally in need of guidance were daunting. She realized last night she would have to teach them what she knew, and she hated to think that because of her they would have to become like her. She hadn't forgiven her father for it. She doubted if they would forgive her either.

She put on the radio as they continued the drive north along the 101 coastal highway.

"So is no one going to bring up that Sheldon and Christine were going at it like rabid freshman when they got home from their date?" Howard had avoided the discussion so far but really, he saw the reaction Sheldon's body had to her.

"Howard, please do not disrespect my girlfriend by discussing our sex life."

"Wait. Girlfriend? Sex life? Since when do you have a sex life Sheldon?"

"Since meeting Christine." Honestly, wasn't this obvious?

"Anyhow. How was the date?" Penny steered the conversation to a more pleasant tone. "Did you like the zoo?"

"Are you kidding? It was the greatest date ever. I got to take a great train ride, see my first west coast sunrise, feed a giraffe, pet a lion, ride an elephant with Sheldon latched to my back and finish off the night telling Sheldon I love him."

"Dude she said it first!" Raj was stunned. Last time he hung out with Christine alone she had said she is the total opposite of Penny, a two- if that.

"Actually, we said it together."

"Awwww." Raj, Amy, Penny and Bernadette let out simultaneous mews of affection.

"So have you and Amy done it yet Raj?" Sheldon was shocked at Christine's bold question.

Amy answered. "Not yet. But I do believe with the events of late that my sexual hang ups pale in comparison. Perhaps I can move on." She wiggled her eyebrows at Raj who squeaked out in excitement.

"Aww, look at us all. All grown up, in love, running for our lives. Its like a screwed up fairy tale." Leonard mocked his friends. They were seriously talking about their love lives at a time like this.

Penny pursed her lips. "Oh knock it off Leonard. Christine is trying to let us chill out a little. Take the opportunity."

Familiar geek talked filled the rest of the ride.

-T—B—B—T—

"A beach house?" Penny was all excitement. When Christine said 'safe house' her mind instantly reverted to some rundown apartment building or a guarded rural area. But this was a regular suburban home in a gated community along the Carpinteria coast, just a few miles south of Santa Barbara.

"Yep. One of my aliases is totally loaded." Christine began unloading her share of the baggage once they got inside the garage. She would have to stake out the place in a quick once over before she could let them in.

"Ok, so I realized that we are sorta running for our lives. But I am gonna get to enjoy this right?"

"I owe you at least that much." Christine answered before closing the door from the garage behind her.

Inside, she held her gun at the ready. She checked every room, under every bed, in every empty closet. The cabinets were examined in the kitchen. The walls pounded here and there to check for any alterations someone could have made in her absence. It was safe.

Each couple was shown to their bedrooms and Christine gathered them in the hall.

"This here is the main closet. I have a variety of clothes of just about every size in here. So help yourself. If we need anything else we can go shopping for it. If you go for a walk on the beach go in pairs and argue with your friend if anyone passes you. It will draw attention away from who you could be if you aren't visibly trying to act incognito." With that, she and Sheldon made way to the master suite.

"Out of curiosity, was this the mystery beach house in your post-apocalyptic plans?"

She nodded. "I'm glad you read them."

"I will admit that the purple section had me wondering if there was something drastically different about you."

"And what conclusions did you come up with?"

"Either time travel or alien. Somehow spy seemed more outlandish."

"Only you could think that."

Sheldon held his head in his hands and hit the bed. The weariness was finally setting in. His whole life was changing and he was totally out of control of it. And it wasn't even just the running, the spy games, the aliases or the danger. It was mostly that he was now a man who no longer cringed at human contact. He no longer withheld handshakes or avoided kisses. He would seek them out. He wanted flesh, flesh and more of it. He wanted her. Just her. And nothing more.

"Thinking about me again aren't you?" Christine's voice took on a seductive tone as she rounded to Sheldon's side of the bed.

"How can you tell?" He still couldn't peek out from his hands covering his eyes.

"The physical evidence speaks for itself."

He looked down his body. Yes, indeed it did.

She climbed on top of him, straddling his lap and pulling away his hands so she could properly kiss him.

"We have about twenty minutes we can make out before I have to make dinner for you and then go see my contact. Let's make them count."

He flipped her over and pinned her to the bed running his hands over every surface of skin he could find. She wasted no time whipping off his shirt throwing it indiscriminately to a table lamp on the other side of the room. He did much the same.

She trailed her nails delicately over the spread of his shoulders as he steadily planted kiss after sweeping kiss along her jaw, clavicle, décolleté. He kissed down through the valley between her breasts before hitting her bra line, then traced along the fleshy line of the cups in one direction, then the other. Her whole chest with heaving in labored inhalations and gaspy exhaling moans. When he got to the scar above her left breast he asked. "What was this from?" before returning his tender onslaught to her throat.

"Stab wound, Pakinstan." She stammered out between his small nips at the junction between her neck and shoulder.

He appreciatively trailed down her, sucking at the fabric of her bra that sheerly covered her nipples. She begged like a puppy in little squeely moans. But he wasn't giving into her that easy. He let his nose trace along her skin as he slid down her torso to her bellybutton and trailed more kisses side to side. "And this one?" he licked the edge of the faded scar on her left side torso at the small of her waist.

"Superficial bullet wound. I was 16. First time I got hit, had to repair it myself."

He was concerned at that and his gaze moved to her eyes. She was staring down at him in purse ecstacy.

"The first time?"

Why was he harping on this? "I have been shot four times. That one there, one on my hip and twice on my right shoulder. But none were very serious, obviously."

He ground his face into the space between her fleshy mounds and sighed. He was used to being demanding of his friends, but not of her... but this he really needed. "I want you to give this up."

She sighed, resigned to the fact that no more hanky panky would be taking place today. She ran her fingers through his hair. He really was worried about her. He wasn't the weapon expert (though he could shoot with great accuracy) and he wasn't the most physically strong man in the world, but he wanted to defend her and to keep her safe.

"I want to too Sheldon. I have had many plans over the years to get out of this but its very complex. I am almost a peace maker- mortal enemy groups have ganged up on me before. I know too much. I have too much they want. The only way out is to either kill them all or buy off the leaders. Either route is fraught with direct peril. I would most likely die trying to end this than of keep fighting the just sporadic battles as I run."

He sighed and tried to fight it. But he knew Christine could feel the tear fall onto her bare skin. "Will there ever be a time we can escape?"

"We?"

"I am not leaving you alone in this. This is my choice."

She pulled him up to her face and repositioned them from lying across the bed to lying correctly on the pillows. Facing him, she caressed his cheek.

"I can't say for sure. I can tell you what I want. I want a normal life. A nine to five. Kids. Money problems. Access to only one car. I don't want to give up my crazy side. I still want to try everything I can, keep the personality I have filtered out of myself from my time with you. You keep me honest with who I am because I never wanted to be false with you."

"But I have to still figure out how to get it. I won't rest until I do, Sheldon. I will be putting things in the works tonight that will put me at great risk, probably all of us. But it might be the only way through. And now that I have you, I will take that chance, if it is what you want from me."

"It is."

-T—B—B—T—

She hadn't shared a meal with him since she was eleven and about to leave for college.

"My dear Soliloquy." He greeted her kindly at the bar top.

"I assume you got my full message then." She sat next to him looking straight ahead. She ordered a shrimp cocktail and sent the bartender back to his duty.

"Yes. You are quite clever to have left the television running. But then, you always were cleaver." He was referring to when he inevitably checked her apartment. He always kept track of who was after her. Usually he beat them to the punch but even the ones that slip through the cracks are found out eventually. And then he would always come, and check, and see if it finally happened or if his training paid off and she escaped relatively unscathed. When he saw the security monitor on the TV still left on he knew for sure she had made it out, no one else would have left a clue like that.

This was the next appointed rendezvous, a small dive bar in Ventura. He knew the locations of all her safe houses but he rarely ever came to any of them unless as an after the fact check. His presence could draw more trouble.

"They used my friends as leverage. This never happened before." Her order came, she popped a shrimp in her mouth and continued to watch the screen behind the bar.

"Never happened to you. For now they must stay in your care."

"I know." She hoped that soon they could be able to return to their lives.

"So you want out then. For good?"

"You know I do."

"Because of the physicist?"

"He is the catalyst for the push now. But even if I hadn't wanted this most of my life I would give it up in a second for him."

"It will be risky, for both of us. But I will do what I can. I will approach Oppenheimer first and put a dummy target up. We should test ourselves against a strong force. If the worse should happen, hopefully that will give us time to move on. I will go tonight."

"Thank you." She would have kissed his cheek, she wanted to. But it could not happen. This was her contact, her handler in the public sphere of a world she hated. And he was just some man at the bar mindlessly commenting on the game or perhaps hitting on her. Never what he really was.

She waited in the parking lot to see him drive off in the opposite direction before she began her drive home to Sheldon. He would be asleep when she got there but at least she could spend the night with him asleep at her side.

She hardly knew what she had set in motion tonight could mean for tomorrow.


	14. Chapter 14

I do not own the Big Bang Theory

* * *

><p>"Don't you find it a little weird…" Penny trailed off as she helped Leonard make the bed the next morning.<p>

"I find all of this weird. But finish the question." He tucked in his side of the sheet.

"Well, Christine. She can be so animated on the good things, happy things or surviving. But then, like when we were just getting to know her she tells us about her mom and brother being murdered and she just shoves off the emotion. And then she tells us about how her father is responsible for her having to become this." She gestured around the room. "And you can tell she hurts, but she just locks it down."

"Well, yeah." He started to pile on the throw pillows. "She has always been like that."

"Yeah, I guess now I am just paying more attention to the darker side. I always thought she was perfect before. I had been so jealous."

She stopped what she was doing, as did Leonard.

"Well, I guess we see why Sheldon fell for her then."

"What do you mean?" Penny really had no idea what it was about the woman that Sheldon so instantly fell for, why his previously indifferent attitude suddenly flipped like a switch.

"You know. Misery loves company. Christine has to be the loneliest, most repressed person in the world. She expresses it differently than him or course, but Sheldon just trails behind her in comparison. And for once he got to rescue her, he got to be the hero."

"I can see the hero complex, but I never thought of her as lonely." But it did make sense. She always seemed too eager to please until it came to surviving, and then everything was about that.

"Of course she is. Sheldon told me she never really kept any friends before. He thought it was a testament to how well structured our social group has become. I have to admit, Sheldon has certainly seen things in her we never will."

"Hmm. Do you know what she told me at the gas station while you guys were all still inside?"

Leonard shook his head no. The friendship between the two women was odd, too revealing sometimes and yet, of course, Christine withheld that one thing most vital to getting to know her. '_I suppose Penny taking all this time to reexamine her is necessary. When new data is gathered, one must reassess previous assumptions.'_

"She told me she hoped it wouldn't come to it, but that after we get married, if she broke Sheldon's heart, she hopes you and I will still look after him."

-T—B—B—T—

Christine informed them that after her meeting with her contact last night, today would be a good day to do a little survival training.

They pulled up and into the gun range just outside Montecito. She was all business this morning, having hardly spoken to Sheldon or anyone else. But when she got inside she pulled out the fake charm that she held so convincingly.

"Hey Bill!" Christine called the friendly greeting to the man behind the glass as everyone with her pulled their IDs from their wallets… it was the first time they would adopt an alias. Lesson one.

"Jenny! Long time." He waved and gave a friendly smile. "I thought you were spending time in Texas?"

"Oh you know me. Catch a crim, float around, come back home." Jenny was an expert criminal profiler with terrible commitment issues.

"So who do we have here?" He eyed the tall one, hoping the man wasn't yet another new boyfriend. He had a crush on Jenny for years. She would come in here a few times a year for some practice rounds and every time he was the man on duty.

"I took on some students." She gave a flirty little smile. Sheldon (or Peter, rather) caught it and repressed his rage. She was always too flirty, but it would not be a good idea to be angry when he was soon to have a weapon in his hands.

"Good for you guys, getting taught by the best." He took their IDs and entered them in the system. They were clean and had completed the written exam. He double checked Jenny's license, yes. She is current on her training certifications. "Do you want the whole place? It's been really slow, I could give it to you for like $20 bucks more."

"That would be great actually. You know how it is with groups. Hey, is your mom doing any better?" Leonard watched the exchange. He assumed lesson number two was charm the pants off everyone. Sensible, it made the first few weeks of getting to know Christine all the more enlightening. She had been too perfect back then, right until they first experienced her during PMS… Sheldon had to hide in his room the rest of the week.

Bill unlocked the gate and began escorting them to the weapons room so they could make their selections. "Yes, thank you. She is still in the rehab place and I don't get to see her a lot."

"Why not close down for the day?" Christine offered, but rather selfishly if you think about it.

"No one else to run the place."

"Nonsense. I used to take the late shift if you remember. Go on, I won't be firing anything more than a few demo shots. And I won't even have to man the door since we bought the place."

He thought on that for a moment. He really shouldn't just leave. But she _had_ run the place for several shifts when his mom was sick. She was always such a nice person, eager to help. And he trusted her to not rat him out to the boss or screw things up. He didn't know why or when that trust began, but he knew it was there. "If it's not a bother, then yeah. It would be great to finally see mom."

"Good." She pat him on the back. "And make sure you get her those donuts she loves."

'_And she always remembers the little things.'_ He unsuccessfully tried to hide his swooning. "I will."

After he left everyone stood staring at her. "Jesus, you really can talk your way into anything." Amy really wanted to learn how to do that.

Christine/Jenny just shrugged. "Why do you think I chose psychology as my second doctorate?"

The group shrugged together. Christine always came off as the perfect woman to many of them. Sure, she had faults but she always covered them. Now, looking at her they began to understand. While she is who she is, she is also more like Sheldon than anyone thought. They got it. Sheldon once told the guys he saw it too, ever since she told them about her mother and brother and tried to play off her reaction to the pain. She was totally lost, and very much alone in her work.

She locked up the front gate which separated the practice area from the front reception after she put out a sign saying _closed for private party_.

"Alright guys, gather around." She motioned for them to fan out on the other side of the table she stood behind. She popped open the cases and impersonally began cocking a few of the shotguns.

"I already know how to shoot." Sheldon informed her. He was from Texas and both Penny and himself were great shots.

"Yeah, I know. We aren't really here to practice the whole time. After about an hour on the range to teach everyone else I have something else planned. I just needed the space where gun shots sounding wouldn't alarm anyone."

Sheldon and Penny each grabbed a weapon, ear muffs and some ammunition and made their way for target practice as Christine asked of them. She took her other friends with her as she taught them each how to line up a shot and the finer points of each type of automatic weapon she had in the small arsenal.

Raj and Amy were surprisingly easy to train. They worked together so naturally that Christine came to wonder how it was that no one picked up on their little chemistry before. He was shy, she was inept in her inexperience… they were so good for one another. Just like she and Sheldon, so alike and so entirely different.

Leonard, Howard and Berdnadette took a little more time. Thankfully Penny was able to get Leonard to focus on his targets by imagining they were his mother's parenting articles. That was surprisingly effective. Howard had to visualize everyone who ever made fun of his height before he could really commit the energy to shoot. That always helps. Its like method acting, focusing on such things let your instincts kick in and make the training stick.

Bernadette was a totally different kettle of fish. While others needed motivation, she needed to be calmed down. She was all over the board from dead accurate to totally off base with her shots. But her enthusiasm did count for something. If they were to face a large force where no one of their party would be too close for her accuracy, then she would be the most useful of anyone. She did not hesitate in the least. She would pull the trigger with barely a thought if she felt the slightest bit threatened.

Christine observed this, each of their strengths and decided it was time to grow on them in the next lesson. She pulled them into the small arena in the back. It was basically just a large space. About twenty feet by 30 feet. At the far end one could see a setup of the automated training system, similar to that used to train police forces. But Christine left it retracted and pulled out a wooden chair from the backroom.

The first one up would have to be Bernadette, but she would have to demo this herself. And she hated it. The body guard her father had hired to protect, educate, and train her had done this to her when she was five and continued once a month until she went off to college. It was the single most terrifying practice she had, mainly because she had to become perfect at it. It was always a very real possibility that she would have to learn how to get out of being captured, how to endure torture, or fight back.

She stood in front of Bernadette as everyone lined up on one side of the room. "I don't want you to panic here. But each of you needs to know that if you get caught you will most likely be coerced, forcefully, into revealing what you know. If it happens, tell them whatever they want to know in slow increments, holding out a little until I can come, or my contact comes, and we get you out. But if things should go awry, you need to know how to get out of your holdings."

She sat in the chair. "Bernadette, I want you to pay the most attention to this. I won't have you do it, because it takes years to be able to improv and just a simple practice now will probably write a script out for you. But you should see some of the options available to you.

"If several of you are captured they will most likely keep you all together in the same room where you can see one another. It helps increase your suffering and the urgency of your compliance. You are most likely to be able to escape from bindings, Bernie, due to your size and sheer veracity." She handed Sheldon several lengths of rope and retook her seat. "Sheldon, tie me as tight as you can and don't hold back. Then blindfold me."

Howard took the opportunity. "Kinky."

"Shut up Howard." Penny warned.

"Watch my movements. And pretend that I have attackers all around me."

She narrated her actions to them, describing what she was doing so they could clearly commit it to memory. First, she took stock of her position. Her feet were inches above the ground, each wrapped separately to the front chair legs. Then, her hands were tied above the wrists behind the back of the chair and a couple rounds held her chest flat against the back.

"Whenever your hands are to be bound always make wide fists while the do it. Even if it only gives you an eighth of an inch, ever bit of space counts. Feel around and try to hook either your index or pinky to the center of the knot. If you can get between the ties, you can get free of the knot. But if not, you will have to get your body free first and attempt to slide them under your bottom and legs. Sheldon used a very difficult knot on my hands. Good job sweetie. Now I really have to work to get free."

She showed them how to flip themselves in the chair so as to break the legs off, how to slam herself down with force to dislodge the seat from the back and slip off their bindings. Between these major moves she described how she would defend herself through kicks, punches, biting clawing, slamming herself into an attacker. They watched with fascination as she demonstrated strangling with your bound hands on Raj. And then were enthralled when she showed them how to pry an attackers hands off your throat, going after the baby fingers first.

She asked if anyone had any questions.

Only Penny had anything to say. "Yeah. When the hell did you invent those moves?"

"It was all from a memory." Christine replied in a tone that told them she didn't want to talk about it.

They cleaned up the mess of splinters, each trying to keep in mind the little tricks they saw. The way to use your legs to provide the balance, how to slam yourself with enough force to break off the seat back. It had to have hurt her. Raj asked if that was the case when they filtered back into the room.

"Yes. I will probably have a large bruise on my tailbone tonight. But its nothing compared to what I could have felt if that sim was real."

She moved to the large case on the far end near the automated system and set it on. The room darkened and she handed each person a load of ammunition for their side arm. "They are all blanks. It would do each of you some good to get used to the sound of gun fire. Everyone hunt Raj and Amy. I will sit out, you're on your own." And with that she flicked the switch so that the obstacle system moved of its own accord and set in place. "Begin."

She was proud of them. Raj and Amy immediately found a small cubby in the course where each poked their head out imperceptivity from the others' vantage points. Raj signaled to Amy to cross the space between themselves and where Leonard was firing his gun directly in an attempt to hit Amy. If they weren't blanks she might have been fatally wounded.

Everyone in the party was fully immersed in the simulation. There were no scores to be kept like paintball. No reason to really shoot or avoid being shot other than simply wanting to give everything they could to the game. And they each got used to it, used to firing at a living, breathing, moving target with wild abandon or the morality complexes they had when they witnessed Christine kill their captors just two days prior.

It would take work, but they could eventually be ready.

-T—B—B—T—

She had mandated the rest of the afternoon as fun time. It was a relief to everyone as well as a surprise.

"I didn't think you would loosen up." Penny nudged Chrissy with her shoulder playfully.

"Well, it would be good for all of us and you guys deserve a reward. Besides, this is a beach house and we are all on vacation… it would be good if our cover wasn't blown because we obviously aren't outside having fun in the sun."

Raj tried his hand at surfing and when he fell in the water after a particularly large wave, Amy had started a little panic and ran in after him. He took the opportunity to hide in the breaking waves and attack her in a bear hug when she got close enough. Everyone let out a little round of clapping as he spun her around and she let loose a little, kissing him like she could lose him at any second.

Sheldon let a lopsided little smirk rise as he watched them. Christine caught it, of course.

"Is it weird?"

"Is what weird?" Sheldon didn't see anything odd around him.

"Watching Amy with Raj, doing things you really wouldn't have done with her?" She had wondered about this ever since Penny had a long talk with her about Sheldon's lack of romance with other women.

"In a sense, yes. But more in that I am happy she has found what she has been looking for in that realm of relationships. What is more strange is that I never thought of her with Raj before or considered that I would eventually succumb to those same desires, just with you."

"So this really is different then, from all the others?"

"There's only been Amy and you. And yes, you are very different. The obvious aside, you are my equal, my opposite and yet you understand me. Who else could get me to pet a lion?"

Christine took real comfort in that. He told her he loves her. And he told her he was serious about what they were. But right now she made him beyond happy, because he told her he likes her for her, the distilled version of herself only he could really see.

She moved to his lap and kissed him, ignoring the jeers from their other friends all happily frolicking around the deck trying to avoid Leonard showing off his shooting skills with a supersoaker.

"So when you said you were in this with me, how far are you willing to take it?" She was really only trying to teach the others emergency skills, but with him… well had her father met him at a young age he probably would be a top spy as well.

"I'll do anything if it means we can take a step to move on. What do you think? Should we change identities again? Should I permanently give up my position at Cal Tech? If so, I should really call my mother unless we decide to fake our own deaths which in that case then I suppose—"

She cut him off with a lengthy kiss. She couldn't believe her luck, he was willing to do all that for her. "No, none of that. I have a small mission I have to carry out tonight."

"Is it related to all this?"

"Only sort of. We will be following my typical protocol so if any spotters are about from a certain underground sect, they will at least see I am up and running. This is important for the overall plan. But in the meantime, I am still a spy, and need to get some vital information for my contacts. And if I am to get out of this we need as clean of a break as possible."

"So what do you want me to do?"

"I need a dance partner for tonight."

-T—B—B—T—

Good couples always dress to match. That's what Penny says at least. So Sheldon and Christine stopped at the high end mall on the drive toward Santa Clarita to purchase what came as close to spy uniforms as possible while remaining undercover.

Christine had suggested they change in the car but Sheldon calculated that there was insufficient headroom to allow for him to do so, and suggested that Christine could be seen by passers by… this made him very uncomfortable. So they pulled into a gas station about half way through the drive and changed in the bathrooms. Of course, Sheldon was freaking out about the cleanliness of the little stall he was in, thankful all he had to do was change and not use the facilities.

When he came out, she was still in there. It took about fifteen minutes. Amazing, even in a highrisk mission situation, a woman still takes forever to change. But when she came out, he no longer had complaints.

She had curled her already wavy hair with the travel iron she kept in her purse. It fell in large waves and swoops, asymmetrically framing the tiny hint of mascara around her eyes. Otherwise, she wore little make up, and this was something Sheldon really came to appreciate.

Her dress looked like it was sewn on her it was that tight. It was a deep shade of red, perfectly matching that of his dress shirt and fell to the bottom of her knee in a pencil style, though a slit ran all the way up the back to right under the small of her ass. The straps were wide, creating more of a deep scoopneck line, that it ran in a straight line across her bust. Her push up had a nice lift to it so the tops of the flesh peeked out in a well-rounded hello.

It was the first time Sheldon ever noticed a woman's shoes. They had to be five inches tall with an inch high platform, judging by how she now compared to his own height. It would certainly make it easier to dance with her, not having to bend in any way.

She bit her lip to keep from smirking in pride as she watched him watch her walk back to the car. There was no way she was not going to get a little somethin-somethin tonight.

When they got there it just looked like any old club in any other part of a highly Hispanic populated area of California. The music could be heard from outside. Some original latin beats, some mix of American amalgamations thrown in for good measure. Santa seemed to be a favorite here.

"So what exactly is the mission?" Sheldon whispered the question in her ear as they began their march to the front door, stealing kisses along the way like any good couple in love.

"There's a large drug trade importer who hangs around here. His guys are very skilled. I don't have my full mission yet, I have to meet a new contact inside."

"How will you know who he is?"

"Most likely he will try to steal me from you."

Sheldon was not liking where this was going.

The bouncer let them pass to the front of the line without a second thought. One look at those curvy hips swaying side to side and he forgot about the man that was holding onto them. Damn, she looked fine tonight.

Christine let Sheldon lead her in through the club. It would be better to look a bit more subservient and curious of her surroundings than as if she was actually in charge of herself.

"So, why are you stateside for these things? Isn't that a little out of jurisdiction?" he had been wondering this. As far as he knew, spies worked almost exclusively overseas.

"I go where I need to to get what I want." She whispered back into his hair as he pressed her close during the slow number. "I'm a little freelance. My circumstances are so different than most.. I'm part of a dynasty and so my whole job is to just get out there and know, and contribute."

"It sounds liberating."

"Actually, its rather a prison."

He didn't know what to say to that. He understood why she would think that, but he still hated hearing her pain.

The song switched to another Santa hit and she was tapped on the shoulder by a tall Hispanic man with a long nose and trimmed mustache.

"I believe its my turn with the lady." She shot a glance at Christine, which from the perspective of others went right down her cleavage. It was a challenge to Sheldon, but Christine smiled shyly at the man in response as he took her hand pulled her to his dance space

Sheldon watched her in both rage and guilty fascination. She moved about the floor with the man in perfect rhythm to the faster beats. He dipped her, twirled her around and firmly remained control as he contorted her about the floor. He was not happy with the proximity of the offending hand to her rear end. Nor was he content in watching her converse with him in what appeared to be awe of his dancing skills. But it was fascinating how her body responded to the other. She followed his lead as if she was pre-exposed to the choreography.

Suddenly the tone of the song changed and they switched partners, the man seeming to grab the woman closest to him in a form of competition to his old partner. Sheldon wasn't sure if he was offended on Christine's behalf or relieved. Then when he saw she was flirting with the new partner, fixing his tie while they danced, he just felt jealous again. And she repeated the action when the tone picked up and she snagged another partner. This one was more aggressive, he ran his hands through her hair and she shook it off as part of the dance, leading him in circles back to her original partner. He grabbed her back to him greedily and possessively leading her about once again.

The ire in his blood was boiling by that point. As beautiful as she looked right now that beauty should belong to him! Subconcously, he started turning up his shirt cuffs until he spotted it. The little chip that just flew out of Christine's bra during her last dip. '_oh, a farse.' _He was momentarily relieved until he saw the slight panic cross the partners' faces. How could they recover the device from the floor?

She had to think quickly, she needed an excuse. "Throw me down in a move." She whispered to him frantically. He did just that as soon as they rounded the chips proximity. He grabbed one hand hard and let her roll down his side in haste to the floor. It was decidedly sexy to the on looking crowd, particularly when he yanked her back to him in a twirl (where they switched hands and possession of the chip to his left hand) and pulled her right leg up over his hip, letting his hand slide up under the skirt to deposit the chip inside her panties.

Sheldon felt like his head was exploding in his Jedi mindgrip on the situation. He was seeing her in work and it nearly got out of control. She must have danced with the two other men to plant something or pick the chip right off them… oh, when she fixed their ties.

He grabbed her from the man's grasp and spun her into a new dance, marking his territory with a hand placed firmly on her behind. Halfway through the song Christine thanked him for his quick thinking. "Let's get out of here."

To anyone else it would look like he was dragging her out the club for immediate sexual release. And once they hit the car that's exactly what it became.

He climbed in the passenger's seat and made to fasten his belt when a lapful of Christine stopped him. She pulled the lever between his legs to throw the seat fully back. And climbed up to claim his lips, reward him for tonight.

His jealousy had been palpable and was probably more convincing of the legitimacy of her dance partner than the chemistry they tried to turn on. He was of course a midranking gang member of the drug ring. And, he was gay, they just didn't know that. So when Sheldon started looking to fight she was both relieved that it made everything look real and more than pleased that he was getting protective, jealous. It made her want him, more than she ever had before.

He didn't need to take the hint. He was up and ready before she could even whip his tie off. He pulled up on her dress, let his hand follow over her lower back and then move down to the edge of her panties. She tipped her head back in the sensation of his skin on skin and he grunted outloud as she ground her hips in reaction.

When his fingers hit the chip and extracted it to place in the cupholder he felt it.

It was blindingly painful and the blood ran right out. She was off him and pulling the car into gear before he could think the thought. '_I've been shot.' _

They were being pursued, and it was no longer under wraps. The bullets fired through the back window in a cacophony of smashing glass and metal impacts.

"Sheldon keep pressure on it!" She placed his left right hand over the wound on his left bicep and then reached under her seat for a very large firearm. She hooked something to its base that had wires to plug into the hybrid's transmission. Then she ripped a strip off her dress to act as a tourniquet.

"Listen to me." She spoke urgently. "This will control our speed remotely. But you need to steer. If something should happen you must sever the connection and take over the wheel. Use your gun and cover the sides of the car, I'll take back."

He simply nodded. He was ready for a fight.

She shot up through the moon roof and turned to the two cars following them. She didn't hesitate. She just fired in a steady stream of bullets and casings. The driver of the first car was hit and it swirved into a large olive tree along the highway. The gunman was propelled through the windshield.

But the other car was still approaching, gaining ground. Sheldon could see it, he could see Christine was in the worst possible strategic position, fully exposed above the roofline. What was she doing! Her protective instincts of him had put her in direct line of fire when they had returned to her apartment, but this was a whole new level. He had to think fast. What did he have? Just a small revolver. It was hardly going to damage the Hummer behind them.

He kept one hand on the wheel to keep straight and frantically searched through the glove compartment. Matches, napkins, ammo, a stack of twenties. Two chemical packs. That, he could use.

He pulled Christine back into the car with such force it nearly veered them off the road. "Take the wheel!" he demanded. He stood through the roof and lit one pack before he threw it onto the road in the path of the Hummer. It melted one tired the moment it ran over it, the Hummer kept its progress but slowed. He threw the other, this time wrapping it around one of the bullets. He hoped it would work, hoped that the chemical reaction could cause enough heat or the right reaction so as to—the Hummer's axle snapped in two when the bullet exploded inside the pack.

At fifty five miles per hour, when your front axle snaps, you flip.

Sheldon had to duck back in the car to avoid the bits of metal flying off the damaged domestic version of a Humvee. "Do-do you think they are dead?" His tone was hopeful. He never thought he would say that and be hopeful.

"Yes." Christine was gritting her teeth. She had to find a new car, she had to get away from here.

"Are we going to clean our tracks?"

"No. Its too late and more of them would be on the way. I think I know what happened, but I don't want to speculate right now. We have to get new wheels."

She pulled over when she saw the pond and they both pushed the car in after removing all of their belongings.

"Now what?"

She took his hand and guided him along the road to the house just down the street. They silently walked down the driveway and Christine used her knife to break the lock of the old chevy. It had to be the ugliest thing Sheldon ever saw and he questioned its safety. But, considering what just happened… he had to get over it.

It took an hour to get home, mostly because Christine kept doubling back on her route. When they got in she noticed everyone else was already asleep so she brought Sheldon right back to their bedroom.

"Sit down Sheldon." He did.

She ripped off his shirt and examined the wound. Thankfully it was only superficial, but must have hurt like hell. She cleaned it, made a few stiches, bandaged it and gave him some painkillers before tucking him in and joining him on the other side of the bed.

He pulled her to rest on his chest and began to feel the loopy effects from the pills.

"I must ask—"

"Ask what?"

"I must ask." In his doped up state he was beginning to feel a little worried about their relationship. "I must ask. Next time I am in trouble, will I have my partner in crime by my side?"

She relaxed against him. He wasn't mad at her for endangering him, he still wanted her.

"Yes. Yes you will."

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><p>AN: I hope this chapter has helped put a little light on Christine's character. I know some of you expressed concerns that she is too perfect or Mary Sue, but I was trying to write her as I saw her reacting to everyone- which to me would be to show off little weakness as a means of survival. So, I had tried throughout the story to put those sides of her between the lines, her exhibiting few flaws being part of them.

Anyhow, I hope those of you who enjoy the story like this chapter.


	15. Chapter 15

I do not own the Big Bang Theory.

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><p>"Holy shit dude! You got shot?" Raj almost couldn't believe that while he was finally getting lucky with Amy last night, Sheldon was off ducking bullets and throwing makeshift chemical grenades. No wonder why Christine was even more doting on him than usual this morning.<p>

"Yes, and while a painful experience at the time I find that thanks to Christine's quick actions I am hardly in pain this morning." Sheldon checked under his bandage when he woke up, it would take some time but he was already scabbing over and on his way to being healed.

Placing a large plateful of Flash pancakes in front of Sheldon, Christine double checked his arm and vitals one last time. She was overly concerned with his healing and terribly frustrated that every time she gets close to finally being with him spy life got in the way.

"You eat up. I promised the other girls we could walk down to that beachfront swim shop and get more diving gear. Today we are only doing _fun_ spy things."

"Aww, I wanna come." Leonard complained. He was actually really getting into all of this and just a little jealous that Sheldon handled himself so well last night. Though, he once experienced a flesh wound from a bullet, he did not envy that.

"Don't worry, you and Howard can drive the boat later." She shot a look of conspiracy to the other girls as they left, knowing the guys were getting very much into the action.

They left the guys to their conversation over which super hero Sheldon now most resembled and made their way to the snorkel shop.

"So, you and Raj finally did it last night huh?" Christine asked Amy, once they were on the beach and out of earshot of the house.

"That obvious?"

'"Yes." All three girls answered in unison.

"Sooo, tell me. How was it?" Penny was sure those two could be good together, once Amy got over her fears of intimacy. She once explained it as that with Sheldon she wouldn't be afraid to be judged since he was inexperienced too. But Raj had even been with Penny (as far as everyone thought) and she was sure she wouldn't hold up to that standard.

Amy told them it was more satisfying than she expected, even taking into account how much more pleasurable she expected it to be due to the complex combination of bonding hormones present due to her 'apparent love' for Raj.

"I still find it rather frightening though. I never loved a man before." Amy admitted. And, talking about it made her feel inadequate next to her other female friends.

"Don't worry sweetie," Christine pulled her into a hug as they walked to the door of the snorkel shop, "I never loved anyone before Sheldon either. It is scary, I'll admit that."

"Really?" All three asked Christine in unified shock. She seemed to have done everything before, but never love?

"Yep. I'm gonna check out the underwater cameras. You guys wanna go pick out some goggles for the guys?"

Christine watched on as the girls began going through the various options of goggles with the shop owner and made her own way to the far end near the camera counter. The young man behind the counter greated her aloud. "Looking for anything particular sexy?"

"Just something with a little staying power." She flirted in return.

He got the hint, she never flirted back unless it was a job. "How many people are you shopping for?"

"Oh, I have seven friends to consider. I think we will see some action soon, so something high speed and durable would do the trick."

He nodded, though he was surprised. She only ever hired guards for two or less. Now there were seven. He would have to call in his brothers. He held a camera up for her to examine. "Well right here is a nice option. It will cost a bit more than others, but if you are looking long term and so low profile that its almost invisible, it's the best."

Christine always respected subcontractors who could master double talk. Its one of the reasons she chose this kid. That and the fact that he and his three brothers are the least visible in her world. She trained them herself, after rescuing them all from a life of drugs and other crime. They were ever loyal to her and no one knew who they were. They would watch over them if she couldn't, and even her friends would never know. They were perfect for this.

"Hmm. Well, just so long as it can take a fair amount of damage and can fit all of them in the shot. I am afraid our sporting life means we take some pretty hard _hits_."

"Not to worry, miss. I stand by my products." He rang her up at the register. The camera cost $220. She handed him and envelope and four stacks of cash.

"I'll call you soon to tell you what I think." And then, they would make plans.

-T—B—B—T—

She had a lot more planning to do. When they were shot at last night she knew her plan needed alteration.

But the upside of seeing Sheldon's reaction to last night's attack was that she saw he was more prepared for all this than she thought. He couldn't go off on missions or anything, but that was never the point of all this training. She felt guilty enough about dragging the group into this without bringing them in farther into her world. She just wanted them to be ready for whatever would happen if she couldn't be there to care for them and teaching them what she knew was the most she could really offer in real bonding. So, seeing how skilled they were all becoming and now having secret guards in place made her feel a lot less guilty about the two options before her.

Option one: She keeps them with her where she can watch over them with the help of the hired guards. All the while they hunt down and try to buy off the enemy regimes with information about their opponents.

Or, option two: The guards do their real job and she… couldn't face that prospect yet. It would be risky in a whole new way, a way in which her father failed. And it gave her real anxiety to think of. But none of this was her choice.

She would have to wait for her contact to decide the next step.

She couldn't be sure how much time she had left before that decision was made, but either way she would be saying goodbye to something. So for today, she decided she wanted to live what little of the life she had so come to love with her discovered family.

"Christine, you alright there?" Penny snapped in front of her eyes.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Just thinking about the future I guess."

"Uh, ok. Do you have a specific snorkeling spot in mind?" Leonard was enjoying being the captain of the small sporting yacht today but he had no real eye for navigation.

"Yeah, just go around right there." she pointed on a map, "There's some cool sights on the south side of the channel islands."

They were all having a good time, even Sheldon who remained fully under the cover of the fly bridge, refusing to risk melanoma.

"So you gotta tell me, how exactly is this 'spy stuff'?" Amy was getting really into the combat aspects of the life. She didn't want to actually have to pull a trigger on anyone but if worse came to worse she would like to think she could handle it as well as Sheldon had the night before.

Christine pulled up the back of her shirt to show the healing scars from the shrapnel Sheldon had removed a few days ago. "We will practice diving off an exploding yacht. Then how to hide under the current and finish with extracting hidden objects under water."

"Wait, wait." Howard's excitement was voracious, "You mean we are hunting buried treasure?"

"Just some stuff I already hid." There was a disappointed sigh all around but Christine just chuckled to herself, her friends—her _family_, she corrected—were all whack-a-doodles, not just the man she loved.

She and Sheldon cuddled most of the way to the island, discussing the local wildlife and fishing regulations after Sheldon pointed out a large school of dolphins in their path. Then the conversation turned to Raj as Aquaman and whether they felt he would be the top performer of today's activities.

It was fun, carefree, easy. For the first time in days Christine felt like she achieved equilibrium in her relationship with Sheldon. They were themselves right now, discussing nothing and everything all at the same time.

-T—B—B—T—

"Penny!" Sheldon whispered in a hurry, hoping he had enough time for this while Christine was below deck with Howard and Raj examining the lift for the jetski and underwater cranes.

"What is Sheldon?" She missed this, it's been a while since she saw him wear that 'I need Penny to explain something normal people get' face.

"I have two queries. First, did you pack that bag I asked of you?" She nodded yes. "Good. Second. Considering your notable experience in fornication perhaps you could answer this question." He ignored her glare. "When Christine and I do eventually have the opportunity to have intercourse, how can I maximize her pleasure?"

She spit out her drink. "Wha-what? You guys are gonna have sex?"

"We almost did before, a few times. Every time we get near it, well… all this happened."

Poor guy was probably one more failed attempt from believing he was cursed.

"Well, you have studied all the mechanics of it right? Did you ever read that book we got you?"

"Yes. But I am to understand that in these matters books can't capture everything. So how do I make her orgasm?"

Oh. Dear. Lord. "Look, when you came into the apartment that night you were all over one another. Even we could see the chemistry and we were a little busy worrying about being bound and gagged. Just go with the flow Sheldon. I know its pointless to say this to you, but don't over think it."

"Don't over think what?" Christine and Raj popped in as they returned to the main deck.

"Oh nothing. Hey, we're here Leoanrd!"

Leonard dropped anchor about a mile south of Santa Rosa Island at just after noon. They ate a quick lunch, each sandwich being properly prepared with the cheese next to the bread so as to provide a moisture barrier between it and the lettuce. Sheldon was quite insistent on this point.

Penny couldn't seem to get enough of her sexy captain. She made a show of slipping off her cutoffs and whipping off her top to show him her bikini, and for once Leonard didn't mind this as no one else cared. Each guy was entirely entranced in their own woman doing much the same.

"Alright, as hot as all that was, let's get down to business." Howard, for once was the most on board with lessons for the day. He always wanted to learn how to dive, he even took some classes as a teenager before his mother couldn't afford them anymore.

"Alright. So, first we will all dive in as if we don't have equipment and are just leaping for our lives. Then we will get to diving. Howard, Sheldon and I will go under and you guys can watch up here from above. I'll strap the camera to my suit.'

She explained the circumstances of her last time having to get off a yacht this way. She was trying to steal a set of schematics for the very weapon that detonated the explosion. She chocked it up to 'oh well' when they asked if that made things harder on her. Things happen, even in the underground.

Raj and Amy were the first to mimic her stylized form. Each would jump in a cannonball form, tucking legs and head to the torso so that the back would take the shrapnel. She explained that once you hit the water you wouldn't want to have a limb impaired.

One by one they jumped in, each screaming a different spy catch phrase. Christine was laughing her butt off at this, she wished she would have thought of making spy life fun. Sheldon's was of course her favorite… "Heghlu'meH QaQ jajvam" (Perhaps today is a good day to die). Leave it to her nerd to bring Klingon into this.

Then, came the epic splash fight of 2013. Girls vs. guys, and of course the girls won. Christine had constructed a wonderful plan for it. "Penny, you and Amy stay here and splash wide so it looks like we are all here. Bernie, you and I are gonna swim under the surface and get them from behind."

"Dude, I think they are plotting."

"Nonsense, this is just a water fight—" the splash behind forced some of the seawater into his mouth. He was horrified.

"Christine! You know I don't possess the proper antibod—" He forgot all about immunology as she wrapped herself around him, nearly pulling them both underwater in their impromptu make out session.

Penny watched the exchange knowing for a fact her advice to Sheldon was dead on. "Alright you two, let's get to business."

-T—B—B—T—

"So what exactly will we be looking for down there?" Howard was almost fully dressed in his wetsuit and gear and outwardly excited to finally put his old diving lessons to good use.

"I buried two containers down there ten years ago under some old wreckage. Hopefully its still all around."

Sheldon helped Christine get her pack on and secured the camera. Then he followed her lead jumping back into the water. He had added a diving simulation onto his swimming simulation years ago. He felt ready enough, especially with two other divers by his side. Howard followed and soon everyone else could see their progress on the monitors in the galley.

"Ah! That fish is huge!" Bernadette was anxious having her husband diving for the first time, seeing wildlife wasn't helping.

"Its just a fish." Leonard tried to comfort her. "Anyhow, look how beautiful it is, almost as pretty as you Penny."

"Aww honey!"

Even Raj nearly gagged. "So what do you think is buried in those cases?"

"Gold." Bernadette.

"Money." Amy.

"Comic books." Leonard.

"Weapons." Penny. When everyone looked at her she shrugged. "This is Christine we're talking about."

The voices came over the monitors. "_Right there Howard, you see it?"_

The three had utilized the yacht's cranes to remove the wreckage from on top of the shipping container resting gently on the ocean floor.

"_Yes. When you said containers I thought you meant like cases. Its huge! How will we get it up?"_

"_Obviously we are going to get whatever is inside Howard. We can't fit a shipping container onboard the yacht." _Even under water Sheldon could be obnoxious.

"What are they doing?" Leonard explained to Penny that Christine was breaking into the shipping container using the underwater torch Christine brought with her as part of her diving equipment. He and Christine has spent a few hours making it back in Pasadena, he didn't think it had practical applications until today.

They had to use the full strength of all three divers to pull back the latch and open the door. Inside, they saw just how whatever it is she buried was to survive this long. A very large and complex system of waterproofing and flood management was set within the smaller, clear container. There was a chamber in which the diver could enter and seal behind them. Then, as Christine demonstrated by her actions, the water would be drained using a series of pumps. Once dry, Christine was able to open the second set of doors in the chamber leading to the main storage tank. She stepped inside and grabbed the two brief cases, each further preserved in a watertight plastic outer case.

"_Can you guys each grab one? I have to set the explosives."_

Howard's gulped could even be heard on the yacht above. _"Explosives?"_

"_They'll go off after we leave. I can't leave this down here as is. This system is used by some other spies, I don't want to risk questions as to what was down here." _

Howard was really not comfortable with the fact that Christine brought explosives down to the ocean floor as casually as if she was bringing home Sheldon's pizza for dinner. But, he did trust her. He knew she was a chemist. He knew she was going out of her way to train them all even though she had no intention of bringing anyone on-mission other than Sheldon. And he was sure _that_ wouldn't happen ever again once he saw how regretful she looked at him being shot.

He went to the edge of the chamber and handed Sheldon his case before he took his own and watched on as Christine set the explosives in the empty main area of the container, reversed her process of entry and led them incrementally to the water's surface.

"Did you like it Howie?" Bernadette was happy her husband got to do something he had wanted for years. But she was desperately hoping he wouldn't want to do it again unless necessary for all of… this. Christine had handed her a pregnancy test that morning and thankfully, kept the results to herself.

"It was great honey, but don't worry. I won't be going back _there_ anytime soon. Leonard lets hightail it, I don't want to be around when the weapons go off."

"It's not going to affect us Howard." Sheldon informed him.

"Just the same, I'd like to be cautious." Christine was very proud of Howard, he took to responsibility quite well.

Leonard let up the anchor and began the hour and a half journey back to the marina. Penny stayed in the cockpit as his navigator while everyone else gathered around Christine and Sheldon as they pried open the cases.

Inside they saw what all the fuss was about. There had to be hundreds of them in each case. Flash drives, hundreds and hundreds of perfectly preserved flash drives.

"What on earth is on all of them?"

"Information. Schematics, blueprints, personnel records, photos, all that kind of stuff. Its everything my father had gathered and handed down to me before I officially became a spy at nineteen."

It was an incredible amount of information. Years and years worth.

"Ok, but its not exactly current." Amy, ever practical.

"It is to operatives. Many of the schematics are still valid, particularly in Moscow. And of course, personnel records are perhaps most valuable tool any of us have. If I can recover the data, I will have something to buy off some of the regimes. Some won't want to hear it, too angered and looking for revenge. But this is all valuable to them."

"But, won't that be betraying our country?" Sheldon was shocked, shocked that she could consider something like this.

"No sweetie, most of this is only useful between other regimes, not between them and the US. Its how my father and I deal with intel. You trade secrets between them in exchange for trust and end up getting stuff for ourselves. He called it a multi-back agent, and that's why they want me so badly. Between these and my own intel I hold secrets that could give any regime a distinct strategic advantage. Anyhow, the point now is to give them what they want to get off my back and then further distract them by giving them the tools to fight one another."

"Fascinating." And Sheldon really was fascinated, he could have talked about this for hours with her, but he decided what he had up his sleeve was going to be much more entertaining.

-T—B—B—T—

"So, would you mind if I asked you something about your past?" Penny decided to be more cautious approaching this subject than she usually is with her overly blunt friend.

Christine took a moment to consider it, but ultimately decided that she would answer, lie if she had to, but still answer. "Sure."

Amy and Bernadette put down their margaritas so that they would get everything they could from the conversation too.

"Well, can you explain the guard thing? And your mom as a governess? What the heck is that anyhow?"

'_Good, this I can answer honestly._'Christine put her soda down too. "A governess is like a nanny but much more educated and responsible for homeschooling. But this was just her cover. She put up a large fight with my father over leaving me alone with my guard. So, he decided a position where she could nurture me would make sense. But it was my guard posing as my father that taught me both academics and survival skills. But it was the occasional visit from my 'God father'- my real dad, that taught me covert operations."

"So he was around then?"

Christine hated that part of her past. She loved her father, more than anything really-almost- but it was his fault this happened to be her life. "He should never have come around. He loved us all, and he _was _careful. But he wasn't careful enough. His infrequent visits just highlighted us more. Had he not been so protective, so secretive about where he was going when he came around then no one would have thought we'd be valuable targets. Its because he loved us that he was unable to keep away. And that is how they had found my mother and brother when I was nineteen and working at MGH. They were all coming to visit me that night after my father got back from a mission. But mom and my brother ended up in my trauma ward, dieing, before any of that could happen."

All of the friends just stared at her for a few moments. She said it all with trained coldness but somewhere behind her eyes little sparks that they used to see died down when she said all that.

"Chrissy?" Everyone looked to Sheldon confused. He started using petnames now?

"Yes Shelly?" And he lets her call him Shelly?

"Do you blame your father?"

"No." She responded sternly. She meant it.

"Good. Because I think I would have done the same thing."

He didn't want to see her response, so he went below deck until it was time to give her his surprise.

She watched him leave and had to face the facts herself. She might have to make that decision, or it might be made for her. She didnt want to think about this right now, not when she was having fun.

Penny cut into her time to think several minutes later. "So, what happened to him?"

Christine could only manage a half truth. "He tried to disappear, it didnt quite work"

-T-B-B-T-

"Sheldon sweetie?" Where did he run off to? She checked the lower deck. Nothing. Could he be in the restroom? He seemed queezy earlier. They were a half hour from the marina, she hoped he could make it back without getting sick.

She heard a large cranking sound and then some surprised cheering. Running up to the deck she looked out to see Sheldon jettisoning himself into the water on the jet ski. He was riding that thing like a cowboy.

"Sheldon!" Everyone screamed in surprise. Leonard slowed the yacht to a halt and ran to watch with everyone else as Sheldon rode up to aft to where Christine was now standing.

"Leonard, Howard. Between the two of you, you can get the yacht and drives back to the marina, correct?" When they nodded he simply exclaimed "Good." before reaching over to Christine and snagging her aboard the jet ski with him.

He was determined to have some fun alone time with her today.

"Sheldon!" she playfully hit his side. "Where are you bringing me?"

"Our second perfect date, of course."

"Really?" she was really, really lucky to have this man.

"And before you ask, it is a surprise, as always."


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: I believe we have two chapters after this. Thanks for alerts and reviews. I appreciate them all.

I do not own The Big Bang Theory

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><p>The scenery really was beautiful at this time of day. It was pre-evening, a time period that Sheldon taught of her weeks ago. The breeze was cooler on the water as they crossed over the two miles along the coast between their former path to the Marina and towards the Santa Barbara wharf.<p>

Sheldon loved the feeling of Christine's warm arms wrapped around him as they made their way. The few times he turned to peak at her she seemed invigorated. He hadn't really seen it before on the yacht, but Christine must really love the water. That gave him an idea for later on, but for now he had other plans to attend to.

He docked the jet ski in the area reserved for small craft at the wharf and offered his hand to Christine as they began their walk inland.

"So, where we going stud?" She wanted to pull that one out for a while, he seemed pleased with the compliment.

"First we will stop in the boathouse. They let you use showers there for a few dollars. Penny packed you an outfit and shoes that I have here in the waterproof bag you got me from the scuba shop."

She hadn't realized he even had that with him. She took her bag from him and followed along to the boathouse where they separated to the gender specific bathhouses. When she got inside she saw that Penny put a travel case of her shampoo, conditioner and even a few barrettes for her hair along with soap and mousse. In the main compartment of the bag she found her dress, a clutch purse and shoes on the bottom. Whatever they were doing tonight required her to be dressed up, so she was glad to see the few items of makeup that were included as well.

She showered, thankful that she didn't have to shave tonight. '_Bless you Penny for suggesting that bikini waxing session before my first date with Sheldon.'_ She toweled off and blew dry with the supplies of the bathhouse and fixed her makeup, just to complement her features as Sheldon liked it. She looked like a million bucks! The dress was certainly something she would have picked out for herself. It fell to her knees, as she was conservative in that regard. It had a square neck that made her bust pop and simple cap sleeves. It was black, and it was gorgeous against her light skin and dark hair.

When she came out she saw Sheldon dressed in all his glory as well. He had offered through the bathroom door to take her bag back to the jet ski if she had what she needed of it, and since she only needed to fix her make up which could fit in her purse at that point she handed it over. He was back already and he was dressed in a stunning black suit with a sapphire shirt and simple blue, black and gray striped tie. Sometimes he could be a man-child, but sometimes he could be such a man.

"I made reservations for dinner in a half hour. Since we are ahead of schedule would you like to take a look at some of the merchant goods on our way to the restaurant?"

She agreed silently and was pleasantly delighted with what was up to offer. First, they spotted a shop with all sorts of trinkets inside. There were antique tea pots, fishing lures, a full sized replica of chainmail body armor. That reminded Christine very much of Sheldon. He enjoyed browsing the selection of pocket watches, comparing them to his own. And she secretly bought him a conductors whistle purely out of curiosity if he would love it because he loves trains, or loath the sound it makes. She giggled to herself and had to hide it from him as they left the store.

There were many shops and markets but the only other attraction they settled on was the photography stand. The backdrop was a view of the wharf in the far left and whatever might be happening at sea that day. At this particular moment a wedding cruise was taking place just as Sheldon and Christine posed for their first picture together as a couple. They got the option, and both chose the black and white print which they could pick up after dinner. Christine was delighted, she never posed for a picture before—it had always been her quest to avoid being cauhgt on film.

"Sheldon!" She happily scolded him upon seeing the restaurant they were entering. "This is too much!"

"I thought you were rather found of high end dining."

"I am, of course. I like everything, you know that. It's just that this place—I mean how did you get a reservation?" It was a six month wait, and worth it once you saw the harbor views on the patio.

"I called a travel agent."

"I-I never thought of that." She didn't even think they were around anymore.

"They are surprisingly efficient at getting around obstacles such as these." Learn something new every day, especially dating Sheldon.

The maître d' showed them to their table which was directly against the railing of the waterfront patio. The view was spectacular, a sweeping 180degrees of coastline and harbor views.

He watched her take in the view. She really did find something spectacular about the sea. Frankly, she enjoyed everything. He was convinced that no matter what type of date he planned she would love it so long as it was about the thought of the matter. He liked that, she was easy to please if you are trying to do so for the right reasons. "I take it you like it here?"

"It's breathtaking. Sheldon you have impeccable taste."

"I'm glad you say that because I took the liberty of ordering ahead for us. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all."

They talked about all sorts of topics. Their first course arrived, oysters. She loved them, of course. But she did wonder if Sheldon ever heard of their aphrodisiac effects. Her stomach flipped a little wondering if he did so on purpose.

"I am told that it would be appropriate to ask you to share some childhood memories as you already heard a load full of mine from my mother and Meemaw."

She told him more about her mother. She had lots of fond memories with her. Some were so simple, Christine trying and failing making grilled cheese about a hundred times, her mother once having to put an attempt out with a fire extinguisher.

Sheldon especially loved the story about when her brother first discovered Startrek TNG on a rare trip back stateside. It had already been in the third season by the time they found out it even existed and she begged her father for weeks to get the scripts so they could read the shows they missed. Instead, he showed up two months later with a large box of pirated VHS tapes. She told him it was her favorite gift from him because it was the first time she realized that even if he wasn't around much that he still loved them all.

As they enjoyed crab bisque Sheldon explained the finer points of his work to her. She wasn't a physicist by any means but her intelligence made him feel differently about expressing his work around her. She was he equal according to the numbers so it was his dedication, his efforts that paid off in this area. He didn't have to dumb things down and he appreciated when Christine would ask for clarification. She was never ashamed to admit a failing in understanding and she took a real interest in what he had to say. He wasn't being ignored the way lesser minds often treated him.

The main course came and they talked about their friends and Sheldon revealed that Howard thinks Bernadette might be getting sick. "Oh sweetie, she's not sick. Trust me."

"Are you sure?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Which one of us is the doctor in this relationship?"

"Valid point. But I still contend that nausea and frequent headaches are cause for some concern."

She just shook off the comment. She couldn't let that little nugget of news slip.

But of course Sheldon wasn't about to give up on a problem unsolved. "Or, perhaps that is simply all due to the stress the situation has caused?"

Christine's mood was starting to spoil. "Everyone really is stressed aren't they? And why shouldn't they be?" she shot him a look when he came to open his mouth. She was angry, at herself. "That was rhetorical. I wish this was all different. You are all on the run because of me and its ruining everything, every _routine _you had in place Sheldon. It's all my fault." She was sulking in a five star restaurant and she tried not to care.

Sheldon harnessed his most ration tone. "This is not your fault." He stated it firmly.

Christine looked up from her place setting, surprised when she saw the harsh set of his features. "In what universe is this not my fault?"

He broke into a direct reasoning whisper. "Honey, you may be a super genius spy, but I am the super genius physicist in this relationship. Trust me when I tell you, there is no universe in which this could ever be your fault."

He was so self-assured, so convinced that he was right. "You really think that don't you?"

"Yes. I don't lie. At least, not to you."

That's the man she fell in love with. The man who could tell her something like that and she could believe it because while he can keep the big secrets he feels no need to spare anyone's feelings or tell a white lie.

She contemplated him through the rest of their conversation during dessert which centered heavily on what he hopes to do if he can resume his research for magnetic monopoles. All the while she watched him, watched his animation over the topics he gets jazzed about. And every time he mentioned her name that same animation was present, as if she was one of the little mysteries of the universe her tall physicist was trying to solve.

"You're my favorite person Shelly." She interrupted him, she couldn't help it.

"As you are mine."

-T—B—B—T—

"Just look at us Sheldon." She tapped the black and white photo in her hands. "We look like we belonged right there, right in that moment."

He took another look at the photograph as they rounded the last block to their next destination. "I believe I understand what you mean. Our happiness served to highlight our surroundings in this picture, rather than the opposite."

"Exactly. Hey, where are we going?" they were in the small theatre district of Santa Barbara. She had been here once before to meet a connection in a stand up audience, that guy wasn't even the tiniest bit funny.

"Do you recall our conversation a few months back when Raj asked advice in where to take Amy on the big 'third date'?"

"Of course I remember. I have an eidetic memory too ya know." She wondered where he was going with this.

"Well several suggestions were thrown around. Raj decided on the ballet but you were disappointed in that. You thought his idea of the opera was perfect, since your father never got to take you as he hoped."

"You didn't!" If he was playing with her she was going to go super villain on his ass.

Smugly, Sheldon took her hand to lead her to the 'reserved' line in the box office. "I most definitely did."

She had wanted to go to the opera forever now. As a little girl her father told her that you either love it or hate it and he was just as convinced as she was that for her it would be the former. But she had mostly given up on that little dream. Sure, she could have gone at any time. But, like her daddy told her, its best with company. She never had company until now.

They took their seats which were a few rows behind the orchestra. It was an excellent view in this particular theater; she wouldn't even need the opera glasses Sheldon had hid in his jacket pocket for her. About half the theatre was there at this point, seating still taking place so Sheldon decided to finally reveal which show they were seeing.

"Are you familiar with the story of Orfeo ed Euridice, or in English, Orpheus and Eurydice?"

She told him she vaguely remembers a story about Orpheus and a no peaking rule but asked him to explain further.

"Well you see. Orpheus was a gifted musician who dearly loved and lost his wife when while walking among her people, the Cicones, in tall grass at her wedding, Eurydice was set upon by a satyr. In her efforts to escape the satyr, Eurydice fell into a nest of vipers and she suffered a fatal bite on her heel. In the first act you will see how deeply he wished for her back. So he travels to the underworld and his music softens the hearts of Hades and Persephone. They give him the chance to reclaim his wife from the underworld but on one condition, he must walk in front of her and not look back until they are out of the underworld. I think it best if I reveal no more. Thankfully, you understand Italian, so you will follow along nicely."

As the lights fell down and the opening compositions began Christine whispered one last comment to Sheldon. "This means more to me than you will ever know."

She knew instantly that her and her father's instincts had been correct. She was enthralled and all she had seen so far was Orpheus shooing away the chorus as he grieved in his wife's tomb. She understood it, now, how someone could feel that way about another person. He was willing to go to the underworld for the woman in his life. He was willing to do anything to rescue her and be with her, the story struck a chord deep inside her that she chose to ignore.

The tenor portraying Orpheus sung with a sense of soul. She wondered if he felt it, felt the part of how his character made us all feel. Did he ever lose a love? Did he ever wish he had the option of persuading the Gods for a second chance at the heaven which was the company of his wife?

In the second act that wonder came to focus on the furies. They angered her as they refused to allow him passage to the underworld and halted his plan to free his wife. She almost felt herself rising in her seat at the emotions coursing through her at that, then deflating in relief as he finally wins them over and they no longer stand in his way of potential happiness.

Her eyes were wide in fascination at how devoted the hero was, so absorbed in his love for Euridice that while he marveled at the beauty of Elysium, it meant little to him without her and so he begged the nature spirits to bring her to him.

There was an intermission between the two acts and Sheldon observed to Christine that she seemed rather taken with the plot.

"I just feel very close to Orfeo's characterization. I can understand it, his loss and his hope and his devotion to her."

"I do believe you are very similar to him indeed at this point. I do wonder, however, how you will react to the final act. But tell me, are you enjoying yourself?"

"As I told you before the show, you have no idea what this means to me. I never knew if I would love or hate opera but I am a lover of it. You made a monster, you realize, in bringing me here. Don't be surprised if I bug you the rest of our lives to bring me again and again."

"I look forward to the prospect."

Christine understood why Sheldon would wonder how she would feel about Orfeo in the third act. But most of her attention centered around Euridice at this point. She was angry, so furious at her for not understanding why her husband could not turn around. Why did she have to assume that he did not love her? Why else would a man risk his life and his soul to bring her from the underworld? Could she not see it, that he would do anything for her? Give up anything for her? It took him nearly committing suicide for her to understand. He would sacrifice any happiness just for her.

She looked over at Sheldon during parts of this act and wondered what character he felt kinship with. Did he understand that she-I mean, Orfeo, wanted nothing more than to be with her? What if the circumstances were different? Would Orfeo not give up her company (as he did on the walk up through the underworld) just to preserve her chances at life?

"Did you enjoy the third act?"

"I did indeed. Usually I prefer stories where everyone gets screwed at the end. But I must admit it softened a tender part of my soul to see the Gods' kindness and restore her to him."

"I feel very much the same. It is relaxing, in a sense. After seeing so many relationships fail, one must relish those which make the very Gods succumb to the desires of mere mortals."

They strolled along the streets back toward the wharf, choosing to forgo the taxi in favor of the simple company of one another. The streets were full of tourists, locals, students. All having fun or yelling on their cell phones or just going about their business as if tonight was anything ordinary.

But Christine and Sheldon were more perceptive than this. They could pick out the charm of the older area of the city, and each inhaled deeply once the ocean hair hit their lungs, refreshing their pallet.

Sheldon had offered a chance to change back to bathing suits for the drive home on the jet ski but Christine claimed she wished to try everything and she may never get another shot at riding one in evening attire. So, they set out through the harbor and into the open water, Christine thankful that she let that dealer talk her into the oversized fog light on this model.

She really did get a kick out of this. They could see the whole coast lit up with houses and streetlights and cars driving along coastal 101. They all began to form together at these speeds and she allowed herself to instead focus on the feel of Sheldon between her arms and the wind which swept her hair around her shoulders mercilessly.

"Open your eyes, you will want to see this." Sheldon coaxed her.

In the light from the waxing gibbous moon on her own fog lamp she could make out slight silhouettes, shapes darting out of the water in front of them. She wasn't sure what it was.

"I had tracked their migratory patterns onboard today. I am quite pleased I was able to account for minor fluctuations in feeding cycles that are likely to occur in any animal." Her mind raced to think of what he was speaking of on board today. Spy things, her bikini, dolphins, her father… wait—

The one of her left splashed them in little spurts of water. Dolphins! He found the dolphins. She cupped her hands to her face in disbelief and awe. "How did you, why did you?"

"You like dolphins." It was all very obvious.

"Oh sweetie, I do. They are so playful and beautiful aren't they? Just look at them! They almost look excited to have new above-the-water playmates."

"Are you familiar with Native American legend of the origin of dolphins? It is said that the spirits created a rainbow to save some of their peoples by acting as a bridge from islands to the safety of the mainland. But the children were being children, playing and fell off. But to save them from death and preserve the innocence the exhibited the spirits turned them into dolphins so they could play forever."

"You know so much about everything sweetie."

"As do you."

They continued on for about twenty minutes, seeing another dolphin poke out here or there, swim alongside them for a while and run away, until they got close to the beach house and Sheldon tuned them into the sandbar not too far off.

"Before we get going again, I would like to give you this." Sheldon turned off the engine and rotated his position on his seat to Christine. She responded by moving to half straddle him.

"I have something for you as well. Me first!" she pulled the conductor's whistle out of her purse.

He examined it thoughtfully. She knew his policy on whistling, but then he could always use it outdoors. Perhaps to referee (while still playing) kite fighting! "Thank you, I am sure everyone else will hate you for giving it to me, but I rather love it."

She smiled and accepted her present, having to close her eyes to do so. She opened but nothing was in her hand, rather something was around her neck. "I know we have a policy on not purchasing expensive gifts. But I only purchased the replacement chain today. I had been carrying the locket around since meemaw gave it to me for you."

"Sheldon, it's, it's so..." she had no words. None.

He picked it up to examine in better light. "I added an engraving on the back if you look here." She did, it was a picture she didn't quite understand. "Here is the horizon. Howard made the comment when we first met, though I believe he thought it was an inner monologue, that my falling for you was 'like the transit of Venus coinciding with the return of Halley's comet.' And I believe he was quite correct in that assumption. So this here is Halley's Comet which I think is probably me. And here is you, the transit of Venus, or more properly one of the rarest astronomical events around."

Was he serious? He was too good to be true! Was this man even real? Only one way to find out, she smashed her lips to his and took everything she could from him. He responded tenderly at first, and calmed her pace before he too got wrapped into the moment of it.

When he pulled away for air she went for that sensitive spot on his earlobe while her hands traced down his spine. And he turned his focus on scooping his hands under her bottom and lifting her fully to straddle him. They were grinding now, Sheldon revisiting his favorite spot to kiss along the valley and edges of her cleavage and it sent shivers from her spine to her toes.

"I believe if we do not relocate now I will be forced to take you here." He reasoned out between gasps as she reached between them to rub over his pants.

"I think you are right."

He didn't remove the keys from the jet ski, or secure it in any fashion. He just picked her up, she continuing and deepening their kisses while wrapping her legs securely around him. And together they stalked off towards their beach house and their room.

Nothing short of Hades himself was going to stop them tonight.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Rated M for SMUT!

* * *

><p>The second they hit the bedroom he dropped her from his arms to her feet and pinned her against the door as he continued to devour her lips. They were starving for one another after days of teasing, days of missed opportunities. Every inch of his skin craved her and every cell of her body needed him. She had thrown his tie off somewhere into the surf on the way to the house and he threw off her shoes to join them, so Christine wasted no time in simply ripping off Sheldon's shirt. He let out a deep possessive grunt in satisfaction of the action, mimicking it as he whipped her dress over her head in a single motion.<p>

He hadn't seen this much of her yet, so much soft pink skin. He took a long moment to let his eyes linger along the sight of her bare thighs, her scanty string bikini cut panties accenting her voluptuous hips, that stretch of skin across her belly, slightly scared and marred from her life but ever so perfect in its imperfection. He felt as if she was putting on a display just for him as she sauntered back to him, pressing the full length of her body against him and whispering into his ear "Want to see more?"

Yes, he did. But he was nervous. Everything going on thus far was something they had done before. Suddenly it felt like so much was on the line. What if he moved too fast? Or what if he too rough? Too lame? Too careful? Not good?

"Shhh." She held his face in her hands when she saw those little sparks of panic reach him. "It's just me sweetie. Just follow your instincts."

His instinct was to freeze until his mind could catch up to what he was doing. That never quite happened though as Christine guided his hands to the clasp of her bra, an obvious hint at what she wanted. For most men, the first time they encounter the hook and eye system of a bra they have a desperate moment of fumbling, so it was very encouraging to Christine to notice just how nimble Sheldon's fingers where as he figured the mechanism in a few simple movements. Oh she couldn't wait until those fingers traveled south.

He peeled the front of her bra off of her, interrupting her attempts at undoing his belt buckle in favor of finally savoring those sweet and salty points of pleasure. The sensation knocked the wind right out of her as she arched her back into him, wanting more and more. They each needed it, to finally make love, to have more of one another...

More. More. More.

She pulled him standing straight and backed him up, forcing him on the bed. Before he could sit and protest she jumped on top and undid his belt buckle, discarding the whole before leaving to the side of the bed, removing his shoes and socks and with his help sliding his pants down the length of his legs. He watched her, watched how she would kiss a random spot here or there on his thigh or his stomach during the whole exchange. It did things to him he would never be able to explain. Her attention snapped his sanity, made him need to claim everything from the woman he loved.

She tried to climb back on top of him but he wrapped his arms around her and flipped them yet again so that he was on top, fully in control. That was something she was not used to in general. Usually she was the dominant personality in most every circumstance but Sheldon was her match, the alpha male and he preferred to show it to her by nudging his way between her legs and continuing his exploration of every inch of her skin. She certainly had nothing to complain about.

His lips worked from her own to neck, her jaw, her chin. He swept down her décolletage using his hands to help him explore her soft flesh and the tender bulk of her perfectly rounded breasts. She whispered "I need you, you, you - you." desperately when he took her nipple in his mouth again, gently using his teeth to nip at the flesh around them. And when she ran her fingers through his hair and gently tugged on the roots it let shivers down his spine that activated new instincts. He slip up to her lips again possessively, reveling in the feel of her nails slightly scratch and trace along his back. All the while he was hooking his finger around the strips of fabric holding the triangles of her panties together and prepared to slip them off.

She was so, so ready for this and didn't want Sheldon to stop so she lifted her hips and legs in encouragement watching him as he took in every new sight of her now bare body. That lustful glint in his eyes only intensified and that was all she could take. She tackled him back to the bed and made her own trail of kisses over his body. His lips, earlobes, Adam's apple, over his chest with a slight flick of her tongue over his nipples which prompted a groan to escape through his gritted teeth.

She traveled down his body rubbing her cheeks and forehead over every patch of body hair to nuzzle the softness and the warmth. Her lips trailed along the edge of his uncharacteristic boxers and slid her hands up the leg of the shorts along the thighs and finally just reaching the promise land grasped and stroked his length. Once she made contact his back arched and his hips buckled and he pushed her back over again, climbing on top after he quickly discarded his boxers. They landed directly on the doorknob but neither noticed as they were too busy looking directly into each other's eyes.

Christine was all set for him to just get it over with already and enter but he had other ideas. He slowed the pace of their exercise. He tenderly stroked her cheek and kissed her forehead, down her nose and reclaimed her mouth in a method that spoke purely of genuine affection. She was flabbergasted that he could manage it, manage to make her incredibly hot and bothered as his fingers found her hotspots and yet slow her down to enjoy that real love, that softness about them that was ever present even in the most action packed of times. Everything about their relationship was a true duality.

"Are you sure?" he asked as he looked directly into her eyes. So then, his fingers buried deep inside her had found that little secret. He wasn't the only one losing something tonight.

He was astonished, to be sure. Both in that he had expected she was awfully experienced and in that she was willing to give what he knew most women highly valued all to him. It satisfied him in a way he couldn't pinpoint to be the first man she could have this with. It erased all the jealousy he could ever muster when he had considered her with men before. So at her next words he rode a wave of pride and possession he could have drowned in.

"Yes. I'm yours Sheldon, in every way." She meant it, there was no one else she could ever have this with.

He adjusted his pose between her legs and prepared to enter her but lowered himself for one last kiss. She was his, his mate and freely given over to him in every sense a person can love another. And he returned that desire to belong to her. "Mine." He uttered as his tip entered. "And I am yours."

He let his instincts take over as they joined. They started slow, his concern for the pain on her face evident as he wiped away the single tear. "Do you want me to stop?"

"Oh God no!" she moaned, grasping that ass she so loved, pulling him into her all the more. "I love you Shelly, just be with me. Let go." And so, he did. His pace picked up, he adjusted her legs here or there to change the angle. He continued to caress each section of skin he could get his hands on, taking breaks to look in her eyes as she moaned, squirmed, matched his movements.

Waves of satisfaction were rolling over each of them like small electric currents. There it was, that cool blue fire Christine once described coursing through her veins at Sheldon's every touch. Finally, finally she was being completed in a way she never dreamed. She could see his love for her, feel it and know it in an almost a tangible form.

He was almost there the moment she buckled under him in a series of uncontrolled contortions, pure bliss on her face and his name on her lips. She calmed into putty in his hands once again but it was only a moment before that second wave hit and he too followed. The two of them finally collapsing together in a pool of stolen kisses and contentment.

After a few moments he rolled to her side and pulled her against his chest. "I never—I mean, I—"

"That was incredible." she breathed out between their panting in agreement. "I, just. Wow."

She found herself lying in his arms remembering all the little moments they shared up to that moment. When he came through the elevator doors, knocking on her apartment door in obvious infatuation. Each time they cooked, or he consulted her opinion on the preparedness of his first aid kit. The good memories like taking care of him when sick, the great memories of the zoo and opera. He knew her so well, knew how to read the very different aspects of the paradox of her life. And now he knew her body, every bit of it like no man ever would again.

He stroked her hair and already found himself turned on again just by being with her. She entirely bewitched him the moment they met and it had only deepened from there, finally resulting in this and the undying commitment to her that he had only begun to express. He loved her, and he never anticipated how satisfying sex could be both physically as well as emotionally.

"Was it like you expected?" It was so much better than he thought it could be.

"I never expected anything could feel as good as that."

"So you liked it then?"

"I am positively addicted. Did you like it?" he seemed to, but she couldn't be sure. She wanted to be perfect for him, as perfect as he made it for her.

"Considering I actually succumbed to invoking a deity quite loudly I think you would know the answer to that. Just crook your little finger and I will come running."

An evil little grin rose on her face as she wiggled her hand in his line of sight.

-T—B—B—T—

The second time they decided to try the shower. It was Christine's idea, thinking that they could each use the break to clean up while re-gathering their strength for another go at it. And she was glad she suggested it because the intimacy of cleaning one another was mind blowing. She enjoyed the feel of his hands running shampoo through her hair and he couldn't escape the mutual delight in the soft lemon scent of her conditioner in his.

He turned her around to face away from him as he carefully lathered up her wounds and managed to not hurt the still tender spots of healing flesh and the large bruise on her bottom. The last coherent thought he had before she suddenly fell to her knees and took him in her mouth was that he hoped he hadn't hurt her more tonight.

He had to lean over her against the cool tiled wall to keep from falling over at the sensations of her soft, talented lips and tongue working over him to bring him father to that edge. She almost got him there, almost to that level of bliss they shared earlier but there was no way he was letting that happen again without her.

He reached down and yanked her up from the armpits and spun her front to the very tile he had just been leaning on. "Never, never gonna get enough." He gruffed out as he slightly bit down on the thick skin on the gruff of her neck. It was incredible for her, to feel that possessiveness course through him. He was hers and she was his and he would have his way with her right there, in his church of cleanliness. Somehow, that crossed a line of intimacy she never imagined with him but as he pressed her palms flat against the wall and slowly took her from behind she failed to live in any moment other than this.

There was just the two of them, his hips, her back struggling to press against his chest. She was melting into him, her legs giving out from under her. She would certainly have slivered to the floor had he not been supporting his weight with his thrusts and his right arm snaking around her waist in response. She was floating on sensation itself, nothing more. Each thrust, each little swirl and grind and trace of his breath trailing over her and warming the skin now starting to shiver from the water now turned cold. She had one momentary coherent thought remembering how cold showers are supposed to cool down lust but it certainly wasn't working, it just made that section of her body mildly affected by the spray all the more sensitive to the warming of the body behind her.

He was struggling not to disappoint her but every time he felt her puddle a little more under his minstrations it sent shivers of satisfaction that made him all the closer to completion. He had to race in his mind to try to find something that could set her off with him so they could ride that wave together. What could he do, how could please her?

The moment she felt those long talented fingers reach down to her most sensitive spot while keeping his pace, she knew for a fact that she was on the money about his focus and concentration on her. It was all about her right now. Her body the puzzle more important than string theory, her pleasure more interesting than monopoles. Just that thought alone, regardless of the incredible sensation, of the greatest mind in the world focused solely on her was enough to throw her over the edge.

"Oh g-g-g-God!" they both nearly slipped, despite the presence of adhesive ducks, as together they came and lost control over their bodies in the waves passing through them.

She was beyond happiness, nothing would ever compare, except for when he whispered into her hair while towel drying her. "Could we possibly do this again?"

-T—B—B—T—

The third time was a slow and steady race, each of them wrapped up more in their feelings for the other than the more carnal aspects of the act—those were simply a nice bonus. They made it count because they could tell the other was just as exhausted as themselves in the early morning hour, but they just had to make it work.

He let her climb on top and found he rather liked the angle as well as the ability to play with his new favorite toys. He loved to watch her throw her head back as he ran his hands over them and how she rode him in circles as he traced the contours of her face. He was mesmerized by her, by the fact that he finally had her and it made real sense. Neither was experienced yet there was nothing awkward. They were older than the mean age, nearly double what Penny had been when she first experienced this. And yet, it was the best decision he ever made. From this point on every ounce of his affection was for her. Every time he would go to his board and try to solve the mysteries of the universe it would be to her encouragement and to make her proud. And so for every need she would have, any new person he would need to become to keep this with her he would do it. Not because of the sex, but because of the emotions- true and real emotions- that prompted the need to show her his love.

She could see the admiration in his eyes shift between lust and love under her and she relished his retaking control so she too could revel in their moments together. She didn't have to think about the hard decisions ahead of her. She didn't have to worry about spies, or information or policy. There was just him, the man she would give anything for, to keep him safe and keep him grounded. She wanted to see him get the Nobel. And she wanted to follow him anywhere he would go. Horrible movie marathons, great operas, she would have it all if she could. She even let herself imagine a beautiful young girl with dark hair and blue eyes learning how to build a cat scan machine with her daddy. It was the most beautiful of any dream.

They parted yet again in shared bliss and stared lovingly and wordlessly into one another's eyes as they drifted towards sleep. The last thing either uttered before nodding off was a simple "I love you." And each drifted to visions of their future, one another and random moments of shared happiness.

-T—B—B—T-

She woke in a start about a half hour later, she knew this because the rising sun was giving off that bare hint of light that for just a few moments makes the whole world the same beautiful shade of gray.

She knew he was there. It was a near sixth sense to zero in on her contact. And his presence at the safe house meant only one thing, it was no longer safe.

She sat up in the bed and saw him patiently sitting on the back deck, looking out over cliffy rocks towards the ocean. She pulled on her silk robe and tied it as she silently tip toed out the room, pausing one last time to examine the sleeping frame of the man she dearly loved. She didn't want to leave his side but she had to find out what was to be done. She could put it off no longer, her fate was to be decided and she could only hope she had the strength of Orfeo in the underworld if worse came to worse.

She sat next to her contact and took his offered hand.

"So you have decided then?" she asked without looking toward him.

"I put everything in place. While you are I are still in direct danger, and likely to be attacked soon, only the former KGB operatives believed you had a real relationship with the physicist and his friends. However, their eyes in China corrected that assumption."

So that was it. She had to return her friends and her man to their lives before the KGB came looking for them again. If they looked the victims of her own operations they would be totally free of all of this, hopefully. It was their best shot.

"I am sorry Soliloquy. I can only hope our future efforts erase how I hurt your past. Had I been stronger, able to keep my distance…" he trailed off.

"You only failed because you love me dad. I understand that- now." And she understood that had to be stronger than him too, she had to give Sheldon that shot at the life he deserved even if it killed her to leave like her dad, to this day, still hadn't managed to do.

"So then, you know what you have to do?"

She knew, and it was only the fact that she prepared for this moment with the secret guards in place, with reparations at the ready that she could say it. She cursed the world at its timing. She had just found real happiness, real peace with her lover. And her sacrifice was going to destroy him. All she could do was try to let him know what he meant to her and that is why she was about to let go.

"Yes, I do."


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Here is the final chapter guys. I know your hears are as broken as mine is over Christine's sacrifice. But read on.

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><p>THE NEXT MORNING<p>

He woke with a pounding headache and an awareness that the space beside him that was once warm was now deathly cold.

"Christine?" he didn't see her anywhere in—his room in 4A?

'_What on earth?'_ His thoughts were interrupted by indiscriminate yelling in the living room. He rushed out, afraid of what might be going on. But all he saw were two air mattresses set up. One held Howard and Bernadette checking over one another's necks and the other holding Amy as she watched Raj pace about, frantically checking himself over.

"What the hell happened?" Leonard's voice came from behind him. He and Penny just emerged from his bedroom, both holding their head in their hands and trying to block out the lights of the apartment.

"I do not know Leonard. Have anyone of you seen Christine?" he was setting into panic, twisting and turning to try to view every surface of the apartment.

"Seen her! I think she drugged us in our sleep! The last memory I have is her leaning over me in bed with one hand over my mouth and a syringe in the other!" Raj was horrified for several reasons, the most pressing now being the desperate look on Sheldon's face as he slid against the wall and down to the floor.

She couldn't have left. She wouldn't _drug_ them. She had been protecting them all this time! And they had finally cemented something in their relationship last night, he had made the decision right before drifting off that he would ask… but she's nowhere to be found.

"I'm going to check her apartment." Howard announced as he held his hand down to Sheldon to pull him upright. "We can't be sure what is going on until we look everywhere. She might need us to rescue her, or she might need space or maybe she just fell asleep upstairs." He didn't want to give up hope just yet. Bernadette had given him the news last night that he would be a father and he took to the role of responsibility nicely.

This was surreal to all of them. Christine had breezed into their lives, made a home and completed their family and then poof! She was gone. But of course, this hit no one harder than Sheldon. As soon as he entered her apartment he ran to the back rooms, looked everywhere he could think she would hide. He checked drawers and behind pillows, in the shower and under the boards of her train case. There were no clues and no puzzles to solve. She was simply gone.

Penny watched this all from the doorway to 5A. Her heart was breaking watching the formerly robotic Dr. Spock of a neighbor fall to pieces just the morning after the whole house heard the two so loudly express their love for one another in three full sessions. She knew Christine loved him and she knew she was protective of them all… how could she betray them this way?

When Amy first woke and noticed the injection site on Raj's neck she thought perhaps they had all been captured, that perhaps what Christine had been preparing them for finally happened. And then she still gave the benefit of the doubt that Christine didn't abandon them, even despite Raj's last memory of the night before. But she spotted the rolled up newspaper on the coffee table just as Sheldon was returning from upstairs in a catatonic state. It had been folded to the crossword before rolling and a pen rested in perfect center on top.

"Sheldon, could this be a message?" Amy handed the paper to him but he was hardly aware of anyone else in the room.

He was fully unbelieving the accusations of his friends. She did _not_ leave him. She would _not_ hurt him this way. She loved him, he knew she did as sure as he knew he loved her. How could she ever do what they are suggesting then?

"Sheldon, sweetie." Penny tried to shake him from his shock. "If this," she held the newspaper and pen to him, "is some sort of message you are the only one of us who would be able to figure it out. She once said that, remember? When she told us more about decoding messages in the paper for her dad?"

"Do you think she left Penny?" he was so innocent, so fragile in that moment, begging her to make it all better.

"I think that if she did, she had a good reason. Let's try to see if that's the case."

-T—B—B—T-

THREE DAYS LATER

The third morning, Leonard and Penny emerged from their bedroom to see Sheldon yet again staring at his white board. He hadn't slept more than two hours the whole time since he woke without Christine. And those two hours were only because Penny spiked his tea with Nyquil to force him to sleep. Christine would have had stronger drugs to do it, but every time Penny went there in her thoughts a corner of her heart marked 'Christine' died a little.

"Sweetie, you have to sleep. You have done nothing but stare at that paper and your white board in days!"

Still looking at his board, "That is not true. You know I have been keeping her apartment clean for her eventual return. It is a matter of time."

Leonard felt such pity for him. He had already been upstairs three times to clean, make a pot of coffee in the morning and dump it out at night when he made himself two grilled cheeses. The second going cold and landing in the trash bin.

"Come on. Take a break. Go to the bathroom and wash up." And when he didn't budge, he hated to do this. "If she comes back, you want to be refreshed don't you?"

This was a valid point. Without word, Sheldon turned to the bathroom. He quickly showered and brushed his teeth and shaved the thick stubble of his chin. And he used the facilities, still angry that for some reason every time urine entered the bowl the water would inexplicably turn purple.

Purple. There was a thought there, just out of reach in his fatigued mind. What did he know about purple? He was sure she'd have left more than one clue for him. She was a chemist, she could pull this off. But purple? Nothing was purple except—

He ran to see if her emergency binder was still on his desk. He flipped through to the purple section, trying to find anything, anything that could have significance. Page after page nothing stood out. Snipers? No, and no patterns in the words. Instructions for an improvised grenade launcher? No. And he had fairly mastered that topic on his own. Page 20, hotwiring a tank—nothing. Page 21, where to purchase their own fake IDs—nothing. Page 22,- where was page 22?

"It's missing! Page 22 is missing!" Sheldon screamed and clutched the open binder to his chest as he ran to his board like a mad man.

"So what if it's missing?"

"It's a clue Leonard. The purple urine, page 22. Don't you see?"

"You kinda lost me there buddy."

"It's a key. Page 22 of one of these sections holds the key to deciphering her message. Help me look!"

They all grabbed for the paper, the three of them sorting page 22 from the fifteen sections of the LA Times. Was it in the entertainment section? Business? International politics?

"Sheldon, you need to look at this." Penny suppressed every emotion she ever felt as she handed the page to Sheldon.

Half way down the bottom was Christine's picture clearly pasted next to the title _"Marie Thompson, 28 of Santa Barbara died suddenly after the car her father Michael Morris was driving flipped over the guard rail on highway 101 just south of Montecito. She leaves behind a husband, Marcus Thompson, three sisters and their husbands Alison and Steven Newcomb, Nicole and Jonathan Myers and Janice and Robert Greenstein. Please send donations in lieu of flowers to Carson & Son's Funerary, 8950 N. Carlson Parkway, Ventura, CA."_

"Who the hell is Marcus Thompson?" Leonard was pissed at the possibility that she really had something with someone other than his friend. She was married? What. The. Hell.

"I am. He is the second alias. Do you all not remember your back ups she gave you?"

"I had a hard enough time adopting the first alias. Penny, do you remember all this?"

"Yes, and I think it's a message. I'm going in the tunnels."

They followed her outside and around back to the alley way where they had originally made their escape. The window that had been kicked in was replaced with an exact replica of how it looked before, easy to break into.

Penny kicked the glass in and lowered herself to the basement followed by her boys. She headed to the side room where she had seen Christine enter before to get their alias' paperwork. Only, it was locked.

"Great, how do we get in? It looks like she welded this thing to the frame!"

"I have an idea." Sheldon pulled out the pen that had been resting on the newspaper and used it to trace along the welded edges of the frame. After several seconds they could smell the burning, acidic smell that slowly ate away at the metal. It took nearly five minutes but the seal was weak enough where working together, the three were able to break the hinges right off the door.

Inside the room was a small set of metal shelves with a Rubbermaid case in the center. Sheldon eyed it cautiously for explosives or potential traps but saw nothing. Inside were eight manila envelopes labeled with their second alias' names and a single white envelope labeled only with a picture of Halley's comet and the transit of Venus lazily doodled on the edge.

"I think we should gather everyone and go through this."

"Perhaps you are right."

-T—B—B—T—

A WEEK LATER

It had been four more days, and still Sheldon continued his ritual of cleaning her apartment and making grilled cheese. Only now, he added reading and re-reading her letter to the equation.

_Shelly,_

_There won't ever be a moment where I am not thinking of you. Even running for my life, with my father (my contact of all these years) at my side, it is all for you._

_I do not blame you if you are angry at me. But please know that I am doing what is necessary to keep you safe. My world does not think you are important to me. Thanks to my father they think you were targets of mine and therefore you are safe, so long as I stay away. If some day they are all bought off or otherwise neutralized I will be able to rejoin you, but please be warned that you should not count on this. And I do not expect you to wait for me. But I will still try, I will not stop until every last of my enemies is off my back and gone -or I finally fall. But either way it will always be my quest to be with you. _

_Think of this as our story, our modern take of Orfeo. I can't look back, or I will lose you for good. So understand this, understand that my last night with you was the greatest of my life. And it is because of that that I must say goodbye. _

_Please live as you had before me. Keep to your work, find the monopoles, make me proud. And have fun, see your mother and Meemaw more, go to the zoo, try new things. I may never be able to come back, but I still have tricks up my sleeve to know if you are happy and keep you safe, so please don't make this worse—just live you life._

_I may never forgive myself for the danger I put you in. I will always be to blame for the scar on your arm and the time our friends all had to be taken away. And I know you believe that this is not my fault. I can't be so sure. But, do know, that every Christine, in every universe, loves you._

_Sincerely and always yours,_

_Christine. _

The other eight envelopes had no letter and no explanation. They simply contained secondary copies of these alias' documents and some startling gifts.

For Penny, a contract with a number for an agent on that scifi movie Christine told her about. And with that, she and Leonard were given a prepaid wedding with one of the best consultants in town.

Howard and Bernadette's mortgage was paid off and there was a college fund establish for the unborn baby, revealing that was how everyone else got the news.

Amy's included notification that she received perpetual funding from a blind trust and a letter from her Arab-prince-'fiance' which apologized to her and released her from the engagement.

Raj was surprised to find he was now a real U.S. citizen and now had his own office at the university and was approved for funding for his own research.

And Sheldon was delighted (as much as he could be under the circumstances) to find two things in his packet. The first was a letter from the former owner of Siam Palace informing him that he would now be managing when they reopened their doors in two weeks and had a coupon for returning customers. Even when on the run she still wanted to be sure he got his Thai on Monday. The second was astounding. He now inherited from his 'godmother's' estate the entire building of 2311 N. Los Robles.

She really was loaded, and she left what was important to him.

"What are you going to do with the building? Will you sell it or keep it?" Raj asked curiously. Sheldon could make a fortune either way.

"I will keep it and all the current tenants as is."

It was a true gift, and he could keep her hope alive upstairs. But nothing would ever compare to the happiness he would feel if his gift had just been Christine.

-T—B—B—T-

FOUR MONTHS LATER

Penny and Leonard had rushed their wedding plans partly because they wanted to get it over with and finally get together after so many years and partly because they wanted to have something positive in their lives again.

The group was just starting to really move on from all the drama of a few months ago. Bernadette was showing, Amy had talked Raj into apartment hunting. Leonard got a severe reprimand from the university and the National Science Foundation for his role in the can-opener incident, as did the other guys. But he knew something had to have been at work because after a short scandal in the community a lot of the business played down. He would never be trusted with large scientific discoveries again, but he could still do the hands on work.

Howard spent a lot less time with the guys and more time building the nursery and preparing for the baby. He worried a lot about Sheldon though, so whenever the physicist wasn't working on an equation or going about his routine he would try to have him join along in preparations. Sheldon was surprisingly good at baby proofing every room and made a twenty-point plan (that would never get used) on how to most effectively enhance the cognitive functions of the baby starting at six months old.

"You would make a good father Sheldon." Bernadette complimented him as he looked over her most recent sonogram, but winced once she realized how callous that statement came across.

"Thank you, I believe Christine would have made a wonderful mother as well. Don't you agree?" The psychologist the group consulted (leaving out many details of course) had told them to simply go along with conversations such as these. He would have to come to terms with it in his own time.

"I do, she definitely had that momma bear thing going on." Sheldon was genuinely pleased. If they had kids they would be so over protected and yet shown everything in the world by virtue of their parents. But it was thoughts like these that made him begin to want to retract back into his old world of work and comic books. But he could hardly appreciate the latter anymore, as his prized item could only remind him of her.

So he really threw himself into his work and recruited a large team of assistants (which was considerably easier now) to once and for all prove the existence of monopoles but it didn't quite fill the void.

As he watched Penny walk to the altar and take Leonard's hand he was delighted for them, that they got what he could never have. All he really had now was his work, and he was on the brink of a major discovery and he knew it would make them all proud, her proud.

When he won a smaller university award he was almost sure the waitress he followed and lost in the backroom had been her. He felt her around him all the time. Like when Kripke got it in his head to make fun of 'Coopwer wit da browken hwart' and one of the janitors 'accidently' spilled the tray of half left over drinks all over him. Or, when the young man now manning the register at Siam Palace tackled the mugger that tried to get him out front. He came to wonder if maybe Christine had kept someone to oversee him the way her father had done for her.

No matter how illogical it was, how much his mother or friends or even Meemaw tried to talk him out of it, he could not let go of her. Not just yet.

SEVEN MONTHS LATER.

"Sheldon, you can't keep doing this." Leonard was yet again trying to talk some sense into his former roommate as all seven of the friends climbed the stairs to 4A where Sheldon still lived. Leonard had moved into Penny's apartment across the hall two months before they had their wedding.

"There is nothing wrong with cleaning Leonard." Sheldon's bag from the grocery store was awfully cumbersome with its six types of disinfectant.

"This isn't normal cleaning Sheldon!" Howard couldn't stand to see this anymore. "I'm more worried about you than my pregnant wife!"

Raj cut in. "It's not healthy. Day after day after day you go up there. You open that door and you just keep hoping she will appreciate that you spent the time to keep it ready for her, to keep it clean. But she's not coming back Sheldon."

He just couldn't cope with that. Every day Christine had been gone he would go up in the morning and make a pot of coffee to keep on the burner before work just to dump it out when he came home and clean over and over again. He had to. He couldn't yet give up hope.

He paused before he turned the knob to his lonesome apartment, his head hung to examine the floor as his friends followed him in. While he had friends who cared for him, it did not matter much. Not without her.

"Sheldon." Amy's voice was cold in shock. She and Penny continued in unison. "Look."

He did. He saw it. They all saw it too.

The man was probably in his late fifties with short dark hair and a slight stubble of a beard. He was pale as Sunday, a little shorter than Sheldon with piecing green eyes. He was slightly tattered, as if he just came directly from battle, he held a small rifle withdrawn to his side. He looked just like her, the woman beside him.

It was her. She was _her._ And other than the slight scuffs on her knees and minor tears in her shirt she looked just as she did before. Still entirely too beautiful.

"Hello." It was all Sheldon could think to say. She was here. She wasn't dead as the others assumed would be the case. She was really in front of him. His entire stance was as stiff as it was still. He couldn't risk any movement which could make her drift gently away.

"Hi." Christine had eyes for no one other than him. He looked healthy but defeated. It was as if someone turned out lights only she knew how to turn on. She will never forgive herself for what her presence, and then her absence, had done to him.

"This is your father?" He hoped.

"Yes. I am." He responded. Christine remained as still as she could. She couldn't seem to tell herself it was ok to show emotion. It was ok to cry. But she needed to see this part through. Would he ever forgive her? Would he ever take her back?

"Is it over?" Leonard asked after several minutes of silence. The room was entirely too quiet when he knew that in everyone's mind thoughts were blaring.

"Yes." Christine answered without even letting her eyes flick away from Sheldon.

"How?" Bernadette was praying this was the end of it. She took this hard as well. Christine became essential to the group happiness, her happiness and then suddenly she was gone.

"Some paid off. Some dead." Her father responded for her. He knew she would not tell them because she did not want them to see her as a monster, but they needed to know.

"Good." Sheldon relaxed some now, but no more than allowing his shoulders to fall down a millimeter.

"Yes." It seemed to be the only word she could say. He was here. She had been right, they would not be targets without her. And now they, or herself or her father, would never be targets again.

Their robotic stances, questions and replies seemed to never cease. The minutes were counting by as Christine and Sheldon's locked stares bore into one another to try to decipher that exterior defense they each posted. Neither was sure what the other could want. But each was sure on how they felt. Finally, Sheldon returned.

"I have successfully proven the existence of magnetic monopoles." He really could not think of what to say. But he hoped she understood he had her to thank.

"Yes." She was glad she could tell him this. She was terribly proud. "I kept up with your work in all the journals."

"They say I will mostly likely be this year's recipient of the Nobel for it." His tone now took a slight pleading tone, as if asking Christine to understand what he was trying to say.

"I am sure you will." She too was pleading with her eyes. How could she make this cool façade finally break?

They all looked on, the cool tension of the room nearly smothering each of them.

"So then, I must ask—" He could not finish.

"Ask what?"

"I must ask." He had to take a long and deep breath to be sure he could get the next part out in one shot. And in that breath he again became human in his request. "When I walk across stage to accept the award, will I have a wife by my side?"

A great smile broke as every cell in her body switched from tension to ecstatic bliss.

"Yes. Yes, you will."

FIN.

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><p>Thank you for reading. Be sure to check out the Homecoming Half-life, the squeal to this universe.<p> 


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